COMMERCIAL

STANDARDS

LIBRARY A Review of Progress in

Commercial Standardization and Simplification

AIRPLANE VIEW OF NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS

ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS OF THE

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, WASHINGTON, D.C., U, S. A.

Vol. 7, No. 9 MARCH, 1931

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C. See page 3 of cover for prices
U. S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

R. P. Lamont, Secretary

NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS

George K. Burgess, Director

COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY

S. F. Tillman, Editor

DIVISIONS OF THE COMMERCIAL STANDARDIZATION GROUP

DIVISION OF SIMPLIFIED PRACTICE, Edwin W. Ely.

The division of simplified practice was formed in November,

1921, to provide a clearing house or centralizing agency through

which the manufacturer, distributor, and consumer groups

could meet to discuss their common problems and decide upon

eliminations which would prove of mutual benefit to all concerned. The activities of the division are purely cooperative

in character. It orders nothing; it dictates nothing; the ini- tiative must come from business itself. It has no regulatory nor police powers to enforce adherence to the simplified-practice

recommendations that industry develops under the auspices

of the United States Department of Commerce. Its chief function is to serve as a neutral meeting ground for the purpose

of bringing together producers, distributors, and consumers, whose aims are sometimes divergent and possibly antagonistic,

and who would be unwilling to cooperate, except through some

unbiased central agency. Following the approval of the tentative simplified-practice recommendation by a general conference

of all interested elements thereof, the project is then presented

to the entire industry by letter referendum for its approval and

written acceptance, the publication and indorsement of the recommendation on the part of the Department of Commerce

being dependent upon acceptance of the program by at least 80 per cent, by volume, of the manufacturers, distributors, and

users concerned.

BUILDING AND HOUSING DIVISION, J. S. Taylor.

The division of building and housing cooperates with business, technical, and professional groups in practically all its undertakings on building and housing. Its work to modernize

building codes and to encourage improved standards for the

quality of building construction promotes the practical application of the latest development in design and use of build- ing materials. This division was also formed in 1921. In furthering home ownership, an effort is made to develop an enlarged, steadier, more intelligent, and more discriminating

demand for soundly built dwellings, the largest single class of buildings which the construction industries provide. The

division also cooperates with many business and professional groups in efforts to distribute building activity more evenly

throughout the year, and to secure less fluctuation from year

to year. The work on city planning and zoning has in mind

the broad objective of buildings made more useful because

well located with respect to other buildings, a well-coordinated

street system, and appropriate public works. Good city

planning and zoning likewise encourages stability in land

values and property uses, and thereby contributes to the demand for durable structures.

DIVISION OF SPECIFICATIONS, A. S. McAllister.

The duties of the division of specifications are to promote and

facilitate the use and unification of specifications. In doing so

it carries on activities involving cooperation with technical

societies; trade associations; Federal, State, and municipal

Government specifications making and using agencies; producers, distributors, and consumers; and testing and research

laboratories. The cooperation with technical societies and

trade associations includes ascertaining the standardization

and specification promoting activities of these organizations,

and bringing to their attention the work being done by the commercial standardization group. The cooperation with

governmental agencies and other consumers includes the bringing of Federal specifications and commercial standards to the

attention of the maximum number of producers and the maximum number of users of commodities complying with these

specifications and standards, thereby assisting in broadening

the field of supply. The cooperation with producers involves the compilation and distribution of lists of manufacturers who

have expressed their willingness to certify to purchasers, upon

request, that material supplied by them on contracts based on

certain Federal specifications or commercial standards comply

with the requirements thereof. The cooperation with distribu- tors involves bringing to their attention the benefits to be

derived by them as both buyers and sellers from handling

nationally specified, certified, and labeled commodities. The

division prepares the directories of governmental and nongovernmental testing laboratories; the Directory of Specifications;

and is working on an encyclopedia of specifications, the first volume of which, Standards and Specifications in the WoodUsing Industries, has been issued. It also aids in preparing

the Standards Yearbook.

DIVISION OF TRADE STANDARDS, I. J. Fairchild.

The commercial standards unit, now known as division of trade standards, was created on October 1, 1927, for the purpose

of aiding those industrial and commercial groups desiring to

establish standards of grades, quality, or measurements for their products or their purchases on a purely voluntary basis. The division functions only at the direct request of the in- dustry concerned. Its procedure is similar to that of the divi- sion of simplified practice, except that at least 65 per cent of the industry, by volume of annual production, must accept

the commercial standard in writing before it is published by

the Department of Commerce. A certification plan is applied on request as a means of increasing the effectiveness of such

standards. Provision is made for regular revision of the standard through the appointment of a standing committee to consider

periodically any necessity for revision of the standard, in order that it may be kept constantly compatible with progress in the

industry.

Except where otherwise indicated, for further information address

BUREAU OF STANDARDS

WASHINGTON, D. C.
COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY

A Review of Progress in

Commercial Standardization and Simplification

Volume 7 WASHINGTON, D. C., MARCH, 1931 Number 9

SUBJECT ANALYSES

ASSOCIATIONAL STANDARDIZATION ACTIVITIES

Page Activities of the American Standards Association 285

American and foreign standardization on a national

basis 294

American marine standards 274

A. S. T. M. reports progress in standardization 290

Federal specifications 288

Foreign construction division created in Commerce

Department 298

Italy forms new standardizing agency 264

New Swedish standards established 298

Personnel information standards 271

Standardization movement in Canada 284

The Standards Association of Australia 278 BUILDING ACTIVITIES

Builders’ template hardware.. 274

Home repairs and employment 283

Preparing zoning ordinances 298

Standard approved for colored sanitary ware 280

Wrought-iron pipe nipples 271

TEXTILES STANDARDIZATION

Knit underwear recommendation approved 279

PUBLICATIONS ON STANDARDIZATION

New and revised publications of the National Bureau of Standards 286

The new Standards Yearbook for 1931 just issued 277

RADIO AND AERONAUTICS STANDARDIZATION

Page Standardization in aeronautics 275

Standard primary radio-frequency 281

Vibration board for testing aircraft instruments 270 SAFETY CODES

Activities of the American Standards Association 285

Industry needs uniform safety measures 282

TRANSPORT STANDARDIZATION

Navigation methods need to be standardized 267

Standardization in aeronautics 275

Vibration board for testing aircraft instruments 270 WOOD STANDARDIZATION

Aromatic red cedar closet lining 266

Grade-marking of lumber 268

Scandinavian standards for planed lumber mouldings 280

Standard cut lumber facilitates construction 283

GENERAL STANDARDIZATION ACTIVITIES Home repairs and employment 283

Navigation methods need to be standardized 267

Precise control of dimensional standards in the Ford

Motor Co 265

Romance of engineering materials 272

Simplification briefs 287

Standardization briefs 291

Standards for refrigeration of fish 269

The International Illumination Congress of 1931 289

AN INVITATION TO VISIT THE NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS

A cordial invitation is extended to all citizens interested in scientific progress to visit the laboratories

of the National Bureau of Standards when in Washington. A personally conducted trip is organized at

2.15 p. in. daily except on holidays. Special trips for groups may be arranged at other times by writing

to the bureau in advance. The bureau’s illustrated Visitor’s Manual may be had for the asking. This

lists the work in progress and gives an airplane view of the ensemble and a brief statement of typical

discoveries and inventions which have been notable, basic contributions to radio, aviation, and other

modern arts and industries.

An interesting fact in the growth of the bureau is the steady increase in the number of visitors. From all over the world experts come to see the work in progress in many specialties. Not alone the

experts but in growing numbers many of our people visit the bureau from a public-spirited desire to acquaint themselves with its research work. All visitors—from the newspaper men, who have called the

bureau a “ house of wonders,” to the specialists, who use its services—are welcome, for it is their bureau

in a very real sense. They are the owners of the business and its beneficiaries. The annual per capita

cost of 2 cents which the average citizen pays toward the operation of the bureau yields return sometimes a hundredfold or a thousandfold. How science turns wastes into profits, increases the useful life of materials, adds new efficiencies to industry, advances new arts, such as aviation and radio, by research

and discovery—these are to be seen first-hand in the scientific and technical laboratories of the bureau.

George K. Burgess, Director.

43615—31 1 263
Italy Forms Flew Standardizing Agency

J\\ew Organization Created

to Further Standardization Wor\ in Italian Industries

Y |

^HE ITALIAN STANDARDIZATION COMMITTEE for Mechanical Indus'

tries has been organized into a general standardizing body under the

M name of “Ente Nazionale per I’Unificazione nell’Industria,” whose

by-laws have been approved by Royal Decree No. 1107, under date of July 18,

1930, according to information received from Assistant Trade Commissioner

John M. Kennedy at Milan, Italy.

This society has been formed under the auspices of the “Confederazione Generale Fascista dell’Industria Italiana” (Italian General Fascist Confederation),

which had considered for some time the importance of standardization in the technical and industrial field as a form of modern science necessary for industrial progress and national economy.

Anxious to give proper organization and greater development to Italian Standardization activities, the industrial confederation sponsored the formation of

a new society which would cover all industrial branches and have a recognized

position among the industrial national organizations; consequently, the industrial

confederation decided to merge and enlarge the scope of the former General

Committee for Standardization in Mechanical Industries, formed in 1921 by the

Mechanical Industries National Association.

The new Italian Standardization body has been officially recognized in accord- ance with the corporative system which rules all Italian productive activities, and

this recognition will guarantee regular and efficient cooperation between Government departments, producers, and other interested groups.

As a consequence of the formation of the new Standardizing body, Italian

activities in the Standardization field have received a character of organic unity

comparable with the Standardizing bodies of other countries. This unity will

be an essential factor for rational and profitable work.

In the by-laws of the new Italian Standardizing body are fixed the dispositions

ruling its functions, similar to those already adopted by the former Standardizing

Committee for Mechanical Industries. Standardization projects will be developed

through preparatory Studies by the technical committees of the body, which are

a central technical committee, various technical committees, and a general sec- retary. These committees will prepare the Standard projects which, before their

final approval, will be submitted to a general conference (public inquiry) directed

to elicit comments and observations from all interested parties; in this manner the

committees will be in a position to examine all the numerous and various practical

needs of the industry.

A council of directors will govern the body, and to this council will be deferred the final examination of the proposed Standards, and the decisions on their

acceptance. The formation of the new society and its organization in the Italian

corporative system will have considerable influence in an organic effort to assist

national industries.

264
MARCH, 1931 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY 265

PRECISE CONTROL OF DIMENSIONAL STANDARDS IN THE FORD MOTOR CO.

Best Results Obtained When Uniform Temperature Is Maintained for Adjusting and Inspection Rooms and

for the Gages

By C. E. Johansson, Engineering Laboratory, The Ford Motor Co.

In the early stages of the automobile industry, parts were made to fit certain master gages or templets rather

than to specific dimensions, and were interchangeable

only in a limited way. However, the demand for more

accurate work and fully interchangeable parts, to- gether with the fact that parts had to be manufactured

in widely separated

plants, made it neces- sary to manufacture

the parts to specific di- mensional standards.

The manner in

which the precise control of the dimensional standards have

been accomplished,

and the methods and means which are used

therefor at the Ford

Motor Co. will be described and set forth

in this article. Quite early in my

research work, in the

art of measuring di- mensions of length, I came to the conclusion

that in comparison

with earlier practice

it should be, with

necessary means, only

slightly or perhaps no more difficult to manufacture parts on

a mass production

basis to dimensional

standards with close limits without in- creasing the cost or

decreasing the speed.

This has now been

proven at the factory

where in the production of the current model car, dimensional standards with

limits of one ten- thousandth part of an inch are specified and maintained on several parts, and yet the production has

been as high as 9,000 cars per day.

The foundation for all precision measurements of

length for our company is the Johansson combination

block gages. The use of these standards makes possible the manufacture of gages, tools, and fixtures to

specific dimensions and gives the inspectors a positive method of determining at any moment, their condition, which is very important, as, one gage- Avorn to the point where it does not check the specified limits

properly may mean, in a 1-hour run, several thousand

defective automobile parts, stopping the operation

of the assembly line or retarding the production

activities of some branch in a distant part of the

world. All close limit gages are, therefore, checked

every day and many as often as once every four hours.

The gage blocks are manufactured Avith the following degree of accuracy: Working set B± 0.000008"

(eight-millionths

inch) ; inspection set A.± 0.000004" (four10 - millionths inch);

laboratory set

AA±0.000002" (twomillionths inch) per

block up to 1 inch

and per inch of length on longer b locks.

This allows a Avear limit on B blocks of

0.000002 to 0.000018

inch ; on A blocks of

0.000002 to 0.000010

inch, • and on AA

blocks of 0.000001 to 0.000005 inch.

The inspection of

working gages for

Avear is made with

special size, standard

design. Johansson

gage blocks. These

blocks are mounted

with special design

holders, in units of

t h r e e, representing

the “minimu m,"

“ maximum,” a n d

“ wear limit ” sizes. The wear limit size on female gages has

been determined as

the sum total of the

maximum limit plus

20 per cent of the

total limit or differ- ence betAveen the

maximum and minimum sizes. These special size gage blocks are checked for size

with Johansson combination block gages, of which,

approximately 200 sets are in constant use at the RixTer Rouge plant. An average of 10 of these are sent each

week to the engineering laboratory at Dearborn for

inspection and, if necessary, replacement by the

Johansson division.

When a gage block in the Avorking set (eight-millionths inch accuracy) sIioaa's wear of more than 10' millionths (0.000010 inch) of an inch, under its normal

measuring value, it is discarded and replaced with a

neAV gage block of the same nominal size. In other

words, the Avorking sets of Johansson gage blocks used

—= *--- — -t - ; - ==gt ^

CERTIFICATE of INSPECTION A AA- .OOoOOJ Inch A - .000004 Inch nn , ^ JOHANSSON GAGE BLOCKS

PROPERTY OF Issued by “*ch of length on longer blocks.

FOKD MOTOR COMPANY & E’ J°2^2PN* ^ SET No. 1-B ROUGE PLANT WITT INSP.

SERIAL No. 739

Engineering Laboratory , _ , „ , DEARBORN. MICH. DATE 10-16-1929

SPECIFIED

SIZE ACTUALSIZB

Variation From

Specified Sue

Recommended

Replacements SPECIFIED

SIZB ACTUAL Variation From

Specified Sue

Recommended

Replacement. B “

A

Accl Bracy

0.050' O.K. 0.131' O.K.

0.100 O.K. 0.132 O.K.

0.1001 .100085 .000015 X 0.133 O.K.

0.1002 O.K. 0.134 O.K.

0.1003 .100285 .000015 X 0.135 O.K,

0.1004 O.K. 0.136 O.K.

0.1005 O.K. 0.137 O.K.

0.1006 O.K. 0.138 O.K.

0.1007 O.K. 0.139 .138985 .000015 X

0.1008 O.K. 0.140 .139988 .000012 X

0.1009 O.K. 0.141 O.K.

0.101 O.K. 0.142 O.K.

0.102 O.K. 0.143 O.K.

0.103 .102985 .000015 X0.144 O.K.

0.104 O.K. 0.145 o,k.

0.105 .104985 .000015 X

0.146 n t KT 0.106 O.K. 0.147 O.K,

0.107 .106980 ,000012 X0.148 ,147988 .nnnm 7 0.108 .107980 .000020 X 0.149 .148985 ,000015 x

0.109 .108985 ,000015 X 0.150 n,K,

0.110 O.K. 0.200 o t k.

0.111 O.K. 0.250 .249988 .000012 X

0.112 .111985 .000015 X0.300 O.K.

0.113 O.K, 0.350 O.K.

0.114 0,K, 0.400 O.K.

0.115 O.K. 0.450 O.K,

0.116 O.K. 0.500 .499985 .000015 X

0.117 O.K. 0.550 O.K.

0.118 O.K. 0.600 O.K.

0.119 O.K. 0.650 .649985 .000015 X

0.120 O.K. 0.700 O.K. . 0.121 .120985 .000015 X

0.750 O.K.

0.122 O.K r 0.800 O.K.

0.123 O.K, 0.850 O r Kt 0.124 O .K, 0.900 .899985 .000015 X

0.125 .124983 c* ao o c X

0.950 O.K.

0.126 1.000 .999980 O

CVj a Qaa X

0.127 o’k! 2.000 O.K.

0.128 O.K. 3.000 O.K.

0.129 O t K, 4.000 O.K.

0.130 QwK.

THE MEASUREMENTS ARE TAKEN IN THE CENTER OF THE MEASURING SURFACE

Cage Blocks marked O. K. ara within original accuracy at S3* F. INSPECTED BY. ATLIE JANSS0N

REMARKS: ^ NEW BLOCKS = 19 pcs a

’• C. E. JOHANSSON, Inc.

Division of J / - ~ri
266 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY MARCH, 1931

on the current model car are kept accurate within ten- millionths of an inch, and when they exceed that limit,

they are discarded.

The acconqianying picture is the reproduction of a

certificate of inspection which illustrates how the

working set B of Johansson gage blocks is inspected

and kept within the limit of ten-millionths inch accuracy. These sets are used to check and ascertain di- mensions of length on gages, tools, and fixtures in

the tool and inspection departments and to certify the

accuracy and setting of amplifiers, micrometers, and

measuring instruments throughout the factory.

The set A, with an accuracy of four-millionths of an

inch, is inspected and kept within a limit of six-millionths of an inch. These sets are used to check and

ascertain dimensions of length on gages, tools, and fix- tures that have exceptionally close limits and to make

sure that they are within the sjiecified limits of accuracy.

The laboratory set AA with an accuracy of twomillionths of an inch is kept within the limits of threemillionths of an inch. This set is used at the River

Rouge plant to check and set measuring machines and

other fine instruments that are used in the factorygage inspection department.

When a gage block in the inspection sets wears more than six-millionths of an inch under its nominal

measuring value and the wear is less than ten-millionths

of an inch, it is used to replace a worn gage block of

the same nominal size in a working set. The same pro

cedure is followed with worn gage blocks in the laboratory sets where blocks with more than three-millionths inch and less than six-millionths inch wear un- der the nominal size are placed in the inspection sets. Uniform measuring temperature.

During the time between the years 189(>-1906, while

working out the details and methods on my first sets of

combination block gages, I discovered that it was very

imjjortant to maintain a constant temperature when

adjusting and measuring the block gages. It was

also determined that the best results were obtained

with a temperature of 20° C. (68° F.) in the adjusting

and inspection rooms. As my block-gage sets became better known and in more general use in different manufacturing plants, I

urged, in order to get better results, that parts or gages

to be measured be brought to the same temperature

as the block gages and this temperature to be 20° C. (68° F.). In cases when limits on parts were not

too close and the above ideal condition could not be

obtained, means should at least be provided for bringing the parts and gages to the same temperature.

The exceptionally close limits specified on the pres- ent model car were such that it was found difficult or nearly impossible to get the desired results on the more important parts, such as piston pins of hardened

steel, pistons of aluminum, connecting rods made of

steel and bronze, due to the difference in metals and

the different coefficients of expansion.

To overcome these difficulties our company then

followed a method heretofore used only for adjusting

and measuring high-grade precision gages and tools,

namely, measuring in constant-temperature rooms. At the River Rouge plant there were constructed

four rooms inclosed by double walls. These rooms

were placed in the production line, and conveyors

moved in and out of the room carrying parts to be

measured. The temperature of these rooms is maintained at 68° F ; and parts are kept in the room

long enough to take the same temperature before they

are inspected. With the erection and operation of

these constant-temperature rooms, all difficulties on measurements of length were eliminated and specified sizes can now be maintained to precise dimensions.

The difficulties overcome can be better understood

from data on experiments before the constant-temperature rooms were installed and put in operation.

It was found that 13° F. added to the normal temperature of 68° F., a total of 81° F., increased the

size of the connecting rod 10/100,000 inch, the piston

20/100,000 inch, and the piston pin 10/100,000 inch,

and a total temperature of 90° F. increased the size of the connecting rod 14/100,000 inch, piston

33/100,000 inch, and piston pin 15/100,000 inch.

By using the latest and most modern measuring in- struments with the Johansson combination block gages

as the foundation measurement, in constant-temperature rooms at 68° F., it is now possible to maintain

and control the dimensional sizes of machine parts

with utmost precision.

AROMATIC RED CEDAR CLOSET LINING

Published Pamphlet on Commercial Standard Now Available

Large quantities of poorly manufactured cedar

lining with excessive amounts of sapwood have heretofore been put on the market and purchased by the

unsuspecting buyer. With the future of the industry

in mind, the more progressive elements, through their

organization, the Aromatic Red Cedar Closet Lining

Association, recently sought the cooperation of the

National Bureau of Standards in establishing uniform

grading rules for their product which could be used

for the guidance of all manufacturers and as a basis

of honest value for the purchaser.

The commercial standard, Aromatic Red Cedar

Closet Lining, CS26-30, represents the culmination of

effort on the part of the manufacturers, through the

cooperation of the National Bureau of Standards, to

establish high standards of quality in the production,

sale, and use of this product. The standard covers

closet lining made only from genuine aromatic red

cedar (Juniperus virginiana) , and includes requirements as to width, thickness, minimum length, matching, heartwood requirements, and permissible defects. In addition, several paragraphs of the text are devoted to the manufacturers’ recommendations for

the construction of a cedar lined clothes closet and the

precautions to be observed in the storage of clothing.

Following a general conference of the industry, at which time the standard was submitted for approval,

the bureau circulated it to the industry in mimeographed form. Following the receipt of satisfactory

acceptances of the recommendation, it was prepared

for publication. The published pamphlet on the

standard may be purchased from the Superintendent

of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., at 5 cents each.
MARCH, 1931 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY 267

NAVIGATION METHODS NEED TO BE STANDARDIZED

Naval War College Authority Cites Need for Standardization of Two Methods Now in Use

By Commander Abcheb M. R. Ahlen, United States Navy 1

The question as to whether navigation is an art or science is still in dispute among those who follow

the sea, but if making a landfall with a big liner on

a dark foggy night is a science, it has many of the

attributes of an art and requires qualities in the navigator which are not necessarily acquired by purely

scientific training.

However, the mathematical side of navigation is scientific and the primary requirement is accuracy.

Standardization improves accuracy and every good

navigator eventually standardizes his own work. He

selects his favorite form of solution and sticks to it, and in piloting he gives greater weight to the methods

with which he has been most successful.

So much depends on his accuracy that he is slow to discard old and tried instruments and turn to new

ones with which he is* not familiar and in which he

therefore has little confidence. In spite of this con- servatism there has been constant development in both

solutions and instruments until we are to-day reaching a point where standardization in records and in

the use of new instruments, such as the fathometer, is one of the few factors still to be improved. That

there is still work to be done in this field can be clearly seen by a comparison of the definitions and procedure

advocated by the two standard works on this subject

published in this country.

The American Practical Navigator, commonly

known as Bowditch from its original author and published by the Hydrographic Office in the Navy Department, has always forged slowly but steadily ahead

and has, under the able direction of George W. Littlehales, endeavored to keep pace with modern developments as fast as they have been accepted and proved

by the majority of seagoing men. The department of navigation at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, faced solely with the

object of training midshipmen, has been able to ad- vance even more rapidly, as it has not been required

to consider the large body of merchant navigators for

whose particular use Bowditch is prepared. Its text- books, written as a rule by naval navigators, have

always included not only the older methods but the new ones as well, and it has exerted far more influ- ence than is usually appreciated on the advancement

of the knowledge of this subject. The present text- book prepared by Capt. Benjamin Dutton, United

States Navy, entitled “Navigation and Nautical

Astronomy,” has not only been very successful at the

academy but is also in great demand outside the naval

service. An examination of these two publications shows,

however, a very important point requiring standardization which is particularly apparent to those who

are constantly using a work of this character. In

Bowditch “ dead reckoning is the process by which the

position of a ship at any instant is found by applying

‘Commander Allen is on duty with the Naval War College, Newport,

R. I.

to the last well-determined position the run that has

since been made, using for the purpose the ship’s course and the distance indicated by the log.” In

Dutton the following definition is found : “ Dead reckoning position. The position obtained by using the

true course and speed as given. Dead reckoning is carried from noon to noon or from the departure to the following noon, when the departure occurs after

noon.”

Thus using the Bowditch method a new departure

is taken from every fix obtained and the dead reckoning as such soon becomes so involved with position

lines and fixes that by the following noon the navigator has no idea of how far his ship has deviated

from the plain dead reckoning during the period covered. It may be argued that this information is of no particular value either to the navigator himself or

to the captain in checking the final position, but I believe the opinion held by most navigators is to the

contrary.

The basic reason for favoring the Dutton method is that the factor of refraction so frequently vitiates

otherwise entirely accurate and carefully worked up

observations. It is therefore far safer to have one

course line or series of positions based solely on the course and speed carried steadily along as the ship

proceeds. Positions by observation should show a variation from this basic line commensurate with the ef- fect of the wind at the time and the ocean currents in

the locality as indicated by the pilot chart.

If they do not, it is a matter for immediate investigation. This is far more readily seen when the dead

reckoning is carried along from noon to noon, proceeding steadily through the two periods when variations

in observation positions are most likely to occur. These two periods are the afternoon and evening twilight series and the morning twilight and morning

series. If the sun and star fixes obtained at these

times indicate a consistent variation from the corre- sponding dead-reckoning positions, it tends to indicate

good observations and careful work. If not, then the

computations should be checked, and if found ac- curate, more care should be exercised in selecting the

horizon conditions, greatest weight being given to sights taken when the horizon conditions are found to be the best. That this source of error should constantly be considered by the careful navigator is clearly shown by the following examples:

Commander L. V. Kielhorn, United States Coast

Guard, in his article on “The Summer Bisectrix,”

published in the United States Naval Institute for

September, 1928, cites the case of a forenoon series

in which there was a variation of 11 miles between his

star and sun lines of position. He was at the time

about 60 miles north of Porto Rico early in the month

of June. A subsequent landfall showed the sun line to be correct. The author of this article has noted

the same type of error off the Virginia Capes, but the

difference was only about 5 or 6 miles. Coming just
268 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY MARCH, 1931

before landfall, however, this can be a very serious matter. Another case was brought to my attention in the

Caribbean, about 30 or 40 miles off Colon, in February or March. Two navigators on the same ship observed the sun at about the same instant. Every

detail of their work was correct, but a landfall a few

hours later showed them 15 miles in error. This was

due to a false horizon which looked like a good one

to both of them. Cases of this kind are much more

frequent than most navigators realize and are responsible for many of the wide variations in the position

reports of ships in company, particularly around the

Panama Canal in both oceans. Another point for discussion in this connection is why adjust the two positions at noon when one of the

positions is usually obtained by moving a morning

longitude line forward to a noon latitude line. In some ships these two lines are all the observations used

as the morning sun horizon is usually the best of (the

day and there is least chance for error in the latitude

obtained at noon. The navigator usually does his

best work at, this time and is in a better position to watch the ship’s movements than at any other period

of the 24 hours. Therefore, as stated above, coming

as it does midway between the two periods in the day

when ,most observations are taken it is the logical

point for such an arbitrary readjustment.

The best data for figuring dead reckoning can be

obtained from a properly adjusted gyroscopic compass and an, independently driven log or distance re- corder also kept properly adjusted. When the dis- tance recorder is attached to the main shafts it is not satisfactory as it fails to take into account the slip

of the screws which is the most difficult factor to properly estimate on account of the constantly varying conditions of wind and sea. The elimination of

the personal estimate that usually enters so extensively

into dead reckoning makes this way of doing it far more satisfactory in every way. When handled by

the Dutton method it gives an excellent mechanically

constructed backbone for the navigator’s work.

A careful study of these two methods shows that

Dutton carries the same positions along, but under the names of estimated positions and fixes. But in his

method there are two distinct tracks, one based on

pure dead reckoning and one on every possible bit of

useful information that can be employed to fix the

ship’s position with the utmost accuracy.

It is believed by the writer that further discussion

of this subject will tend to crystalize ideas so that the

two authorities can eventually be standardized as a further step in the development of this most useful art, the application of which by Christopher Columbus in

the greatest voyage of all time, gave to the then known

world two new continents.

GRADE MARKING OF LUMBER

Federal Procurement of Grade-Marked, Certified, and Inspected Lumber

Federal purchasing agencies buy lumber in accord- ance with forms of bids set forth in Bulletin No. 109

issued from the Office of the Chief Coordinator under

date of July 9, 1930. Hardwood lumber must be (a) graded in accord- ance with the latest rules of the National Hardwood

Lumber Association, and be accompanied by a certificate of grading issued by that association, or ( b

)

be inspected by an inspector from a Federal department or establishment.

Softwood lumber must be graded in accordance with

the latest rules of the association whose rules are applicable, and (a) each piece must bear the association

grade mark, the mill identification mark, and the national tree mark, or (b) be accompanied by a certificate of grading issued by that association, or (c)

be inspected by an inspector from a Federal department or establishment. In making awards, where

there are tie bids, preference is given to lumber covered

by bid A over bid B, and bid B over bid C. Indorsement of the above-noted procurement methods of the Federal Government has been given by

President A. C. Dixon and Secretary Wilson Compton, of the National Lumber Manufacturers Association. Mr. Dixon has stated that the 8-year cooperative

program between the lumber trade associations, the

Department of Commerce, and other Government

agencies was designed to protect buyers of lumber in

the same manner that the pure food law protects buyers of food ; to improve operating practices among

lumber manufacturers in order that they might meet

the rigid requirements of this program; and to stimulate sales of lumber since, under the plan for cer- tifying grades, lumbermen operating under the plan

could guarantee satisfaction to buyers and remove

doubt as to quality of materials. No other way has

been devised to enable the nontechnical buyer of lumber to be assured that he would receive what he paid

for. Nonassociation mills can have the benefit of as- sociation certification of quality at cost of inspection or can join associations jiroviding the quality of their

product is such that it can be guaranteed by the associations. The cost of such membership is nominal,

being in the Douglas fir producing area 10 cents per

1,000 feet. No possible good to the lumber industry or to the

buyer of lumber can come from breaking down a plan

designed to protect both from the efforts of unscru- pulous sellers who sell one grade and deliver a lower one or from the practices of unskilled operators who

are unable to manufacture according to approved

practices.

Doctor Compton pointed out that the American

lumber standards, developed under Government auspices, approve of the principles of the grade marking

of lumber to insure observance of quality standards

and of car tally cards certifying to the quality of car shipment contents. The organized lumber industry

as represented by the National Lumber Manufacturers

Association has, during the last four years, put into

practice in the manufacture, grading, and shipment of
MARCH, 1931 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY 269

softwood lumber of every species in every lumber

region the essential provisions of the American lumber standards. In this connection it has instituted

systematic methods, through grade marking, certified car shipments, and association certificates of inspection, of guaranteeing purchaser and consumer the

quality and quantity of lumber specified and received.

All manufacturers, whether belonging to associations or not, have access to American standard grading and

sizes, car tally cards, and association inspection certificates. Any mill observing American lumber

standards places itself on a par with any standardobserving mill belonging to an association.

Doctor Compton expressed the conclusion that the

specifications issued by the Government are not

prejudicial to any lumber manufacturer because of

his membership or independence of a trade association, although nonmember mills, of course, can not

mark their lumber with the registered trade-marks of

associations.

STANDARDS FOR REFRIGERATION OF FISH

Increasing Trend Is Toward Uniformity of Method

By J. M. Lemon, Associate Technologist, Bureau of Fisheries

The complete developments of standards for the

application of refrigeration to sea food is not, as yet

accomplished. There are certain recognized practices

which are considered favorable to progress in the in- dustry, and others which are not to be recommended.

It has been proved by experiments, and is borne out by actual practice, that shipments of fish, refrigerated

by direct contact with ice and packed in boxes, arrive

at their destination in a superior condition and often

find a more ready market and sell for a higher price

than do those which are packed in barrels. The

boxes used for packing are generally made in certain

standard sizes and the shape varies with individual box

manufacturers. On the other hand the barrels which

are used for packing fish for shipment are generally

secondhand and have previously been used for the shipment of other commodities, such as sugar or salt pork.

It has also become a recognized fact that fish which

are frozen at very low temperatures are in every way

superior to those frozen at temperatures slightly below

the freezing point. At the present time, firms which

are freezing fish are employing temperatures varying

between 15 and 50° below 0° F., each firm using a temperature considered by it to yield the best product. It

is generally conceded that there is a point in this 35°

range at which fish can be frozen economically and

rapidly enough to yield a product which would meet

the requirements for quick-frozen fish. At the present

time this standard temperature has not been found.

The temperatures at which frozen fish are stored

until they are marketed vary between 5 and 20° above

0° F. It is not improbable that there is a certain

temperature within this range of 15° that will give

the desired results and affect the quality of the product

the least. It can be determined, by scientific research,

whether or not there is an optimum temperature.

The handling of fish which are to be frozen is being reduced gradually to methods which are considered good practice, and for this reason may eventually

be accepted as standard. It has been found by practice that a standard size pan in which fish are packed

for freezing is more economical than the use of pans

of miscellaneous sizes. The reasons for this are quite

apparent, since pans of odd sizes would slow up the

packing process and would not lend themselves to

efficient placing in the freezing rooms. The size and general construction have been determined by actual practice, and it has been found that

the shape of the bottom should be rectangular. The

width should be about two-thirds of the length and the

height about one-sixth of the width. The average

weight of these pans when packed with fish should be

about 35 pounds each. The fish which are frozen in

these pans form a cake and remain in that form when

removed. The cakes are packed for storage and shipment in wooden boxes of the proper dimensions to contain 100 to 200 pounds each. Standardized con- veying systems have been adopted by many of the

firms operating freezers, which transport both the

full and empty pans to various parts of the plant.

Machinery for scaling, skinning, and filleting fish has

been adopted, and is constantly being improved. This

is another indication of the general trend toward

uniformity and standardization.

Certain sizes and shapes of packages and containers

in which frozen fillets are being marketed are showing

increased popularity with the public, the producers,

and dealers in these products, thus indicating a dis- tinct tendency toward standards. The most popular

package for wholesale distribution is one constructed

of corrugated board, insulated on the inside and having a capacity of 15 pounds, bearing the trade-mark

of the producer on the outside. The fillets are individually wrapped in trade-marked and branded

parchment paper. Frequently a sheet of cardboard

slightly larger than the fillet, containing instructions

for handling and, in many cases, recipes for cooking,

is included in the package.

It has been found that these cartons when sealed can be shipped surprisingly long distances without

any appreciable deterioration, even though no additional refrigeration is used.

Other types of packages which are growing in use

are the 1-pound cartons containing fillets wrapped in a transparent wrapper and frozen in the carton. Five

and ten pound cartons containing fillets individually

wrapped in transparent wrappers and frozen in the

packages are also being introduced.

At present there are no standards for grading fish which are to be frozen and placed in cold storage for

future use. This works to the disadvantage of both

the producer and the purchaser. A system should be

devised which would grade the fish of each species

into classes according to size, and which would eliminate all fish which are not strictly fresh from the

freezing process. The purchaser could then order the

size and species of fish most suited to his need and thus

eliminate considerable waste.
270 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY MARCH, 1931 VIBRATION BOARD FOR TESTING AIRCRAFT INSTRUMENTS

New Vibration Board Developed by National Bureau of Standards

By W. G. Brombacher, National Bureau of Standards

Aircraft instruments are normally subject to vibration in service. No precise data are available on the

frequency and amplitude of this vibration, but it is well known that the amplitude varies greatly for dif- ferent airplanes. It is assumed, however, with considerable reason, that the fundamental frequency of

the vibration is the same as the rate of rotation of the

engine.

The performance of the instruments is much affected

by vibration. Parts, such as pointers and machine

screws, may become loosened if precautions are not

taken. If the free period of the instrument mechanism is the same as that of the vibration to which it is subjected, the life of the instrument is likely to be

very short, and further when this occurs the instrument itself is ordinarily unreadable. Vibration

causes wear on the pivots, especially in magnetic compasses, which greatly affects performance. In fact,

experience has shown that vibration with excessive

amplitude has, in general, a deleterious effect on the

performance of instruments, while, on the other hand,

a small amount of vibration is beneficial in that it largely eliminates the effect of friction.

In view of the serious effect of vibration on instruments it is obvious that purchase specifications should

contain a vibration test. The current Army-Navy

specifications require that an apparatus be available

for securing circular vibrations with a frequency

range from 100 to 2,000 per minute with a double

amplitude, or total excursion, of one thirty-second of an inch in a plane at an angle of 45° with the horizontal.

This vibration was chosen because it is roughly equivalent (determined by touch) to a vibration which may

be called “ severe ” in an airplane, and also because

it is easy to secure mechanically. Further, it gives

components in all of the directions in which air- plane vibrations would probably affect an instrument.

It is known as the “ standard ” vibration.

The National Bureau of Standards in cooperation

with the Bureau of Aeronautics, United States Navy,

has developed and constructed a vibration board for

subjecting instruments to the above-described vibration. The vibration board previously used in testing

aircraft instruments consisted of a mounting board

supported by springs, which was set into vibration by means of a rotating unbalanced weight. The vibrations of such a board can not be easily controlled,

since the amplitude depends also upon the frequency.

In the new vibration board the desired amplitude

is obtained by means of an adjustable eccentric. The

shaft of the eccentric is set at an angle of 45° with

the horizon and is rotated at the desired frequencies

by a variable speed motor. An aluminum plate about

17 inches square, upon which the instruments are mounted by suitable brackets and panels, is connected

to the eccentric. This plate is supported at two parallel edges by a second aluminum plate, which in turn

is connected to the base at its other two parallel edges.

The plates are in each cas§_j§upported by linear ball

bearings and are free to move parallel to the supporting edge. This connection gives the plate attached to the eccentric the required 2° of freedom of motion.

The driving motor is mounted 3 feet away from the

board and except for the ball bearings, the apparatus

is made of nonmagnetic material, in order to minimize

magnetic effects which are undesirable in testing comNational Bureau of Standards vibration board

The apparatus is mounted on a concrete pillar with the driving motor below. The speed control, not shown, is about 15 feet away. The brackets and top plate (with four large holes) have a circular vibration in the plane of the plate.

passes. The instruments are mounted in the normal

operating position; that is, with the dial vertical and

properly oriented.

Instruments are, in general, given two vibration

tests. In the first test they are subjected to a vibration of constant frequency and amplitude for three

hours, during which the instruments are held by suit- able means at a normal service reading. The change

in scale errors resulting from the vibration is taken
MARCH, 1931 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY 271

as the criterion of the effect, in addition to obvious

results, such as loose parts. In the second test they

are subjected, while held at a normal service reading,

to a number of frequencies between 1,000 and 2,000

per minute and the amplitude of the pointer vibration

is noted. This tests the instruments for a possible

undesirable value of the free period.

Further information on the vibration board can, upon application to the National Bureau of Standards,

be secured by those specifically interested.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION STANDARDS

United States Civil Service Commission Standardizes Its Informational Service

By Edward L. Bennett, United States Civil Service Commission

The personnel information system of the United

States Civil Service Commission extends from the

main office in Washington to 13 district offices, thence

to 5,000 local boards of examiners in that many cities,

and from these branches to the public. It reaches to Alaska, Hawaii, Porto Rico, the Philippine Islands,

and the Canal Zone.

An effort is made not only to supply personnel in- formation regarding the Federal civil service when

such information is requested, but also to bring to the

attention of the public opportunities for Federal employment and other matters which may be of general

interest. Standardization of personnel information

intended for general distribution is effected by the

preparation, at the main office or one or another of the

district offices, of uniform examination announcements,

posters, bulletins, news releases, etc. It is a fundamental principle of the civil service law

that all citizens be given equal opportunity, in accord- ance with their qualifications, in the competition for

Federal positions. It is, therefore, important that an

inquirer in Waco, Tex., or Bangor, Me., be given substantially the same information regarding the civil service as one in Los Angeles, Calif., or Cincinnati,

Ohio.

The impracticability of attempting to standardize

oral personnel information to an extended degree at 5,000 places is obvious, and, in so far as possible, information issued by the local boards of examiners is in

standard printed or mimeographed form. Examination announcements, for instance, contain information

concerning required qualifications sufficiently full and

clear to meet any ordinary question which may arise. It is not possible, however, to conduct such a widespread personnel information service exclusively

WROUGHT-IRON PIPE NIPPLES

In order that the Commercial Standard for

Wrought-iron Pipe Nipples, CS6-29, might be made

to conform with the dimensions for wrought-iron

pipe recently adopted by the American Society

for Testing Materials and to include a definition

for wrought iron approved by that body, a proposed

revision of the commercial standard incorporating

these changes was circulated to the industry for

43615—31 2

through the medium of current circulars, and, accordingly, provision is made for instruction in fundamentals of those who give information, as to qualifications, to the public. Basic information for the use of local boards of examiners is given in a 60-page manual pre- pared especially for the purpose.

Detailed instructions in connection with the dispensing of current personnel information are given to local boards from time to time in mimeographed form. In

most cases, these instructions are transmitted through

the district offices because conditions vary in different

districts, and it has proved more advantageous for

local boards to contact with district offices than directly

with the main office. Similarly, the examining boards are instructed to refer inquiries which they can not answer to the district offices rather than to the main office. Ordinarily

disposition of such matters can be accomplished by the

district offices. Even in the event that it may be neces- sary to refer an inquiry or suggestion to the main

office, the comment of the district manager is often

needed.

When a complaint is made or a question arises in one place which is likely to be repeated in a number

of places, all local boards are advised promptly as

to what their action should be in a similar case. Boards of examiners are carefully instructed at the time of their organization with particular refer- ence to their personnel information and examining

work. From time to time inspections are made by

field examiners and such further instructions are given

as may be needed.

While boards of examiners are cautioned not to attempt to give personnel information in connection

with subjects which they are not qualified to discuss,

they are urged to familiarize themselves with their

proper field of information and to make an endeavor

to dispose of as many inquiries as possible.

written acceptance on recommendation of the standing

committee.

Acceptances, representing a satisfactory majority

of production, having been received, and no active

opposition having come to light, the National Bureau

of Standards has announced the success of the revised

Commercial Standard for Wrought-iron Pipe Nipples, CS6-31. The standard is effective for new production on May 1, 1931. Printed copies will be

available in due course.
272 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY MARCH, 1031 ROMANCE OF ENGINEERING MATERIALS

Modern Prophet Makes His Predictions with Aid of the Test Tube, the Microscope, the Slide Rule, and

Testing Machine

By Prof. H. F. Moore, University of Illinois 1

We ordinarily think of the days of prophets and

soothsayers as past, but this is not so. True it is that

styles in prophets have changed—greatly changed

since the days of the Witch of Endor and the Delphic

Oracle. The prophets of olden time in performing

their official duties mumbled incantations, brewed

magic messes, and made wise cracks about the arrangement and the significance of the intestines of freshly

slain fowls. The prophets of to-day make predictions

with the aid of the test tube, the microscope, the slide

rule, and the testing machine.

A large group of these modern prophets make a business of predicting how steel, brass, aluminum,

concrete, brick, wood, and rubber may be made to serve satisfactorily as materials for buildings, loco- motives, automobiles, airplanes, sewers, and bridges.

As in the ancient world there were schools and fraternities of prophets, so in the modern world the

prophets gather into associations and societies, and

the American prophets of the strength and durability of materials are gathered—some 4,500 strong

into the American Society for Testing Materials.

In that much discussed book, “ The Outline of

History,” H. G. Wells recognizes one fact which most

of the older historians have failed to see, namely, that one important element in our modern civilized life is the fact that to-day we have available very many materials whose strength can be predicted and controlled.

The builders of the ancient world had to take materials as they found them in nature. Even the makers

of the famous Damascus and Toledo blades were

largely dependent on the occurrence in nature of for- tunate combinations of ingredients in the ores near

at hand. They used many a weird rule of thumb in

tempering their steel, and kept no record of their

failures.

When we think of the marvels of modern applied

science we naturally think of dramatic marvels—the

giant locomotive, the light but powerful airplane engine, the 125,000 horsepower dynamo, the 60-story

skyscraper—but not one of these would have been

possible unless there had been developed strong, durable, workable materials out of which to build them.

We all cross bridges, walk under trollev wires, ride in

automobiles, and the personal safety of each one of us

is dependent a score of times a day on the strength of

the material in bridge or house or automobile or steel

rail.Not only are we all vitally concerned with our physical safety, we are also greatly concerned with the cost of living—the cost of clothing, of household goods,

of farm implements, with the amount of the taxes we

must pay to keep up sewer systems, pavements, waterworks. Now a very large factor in determining these

costs is the wisdom used in selecting suitable materials,

' The author is research professor of engineering materials at the University of Illinois, and is past president of the American Society

for Testing Materials.

materials whose money cost, strength, and durability

are well balanced.

How can you tell the wearing quality of the leather

in your children’s shoes, Mrs. Housewife ? What kind

of draintile is really cheapest in the long run, Mr.

Farmer? How can you be reasonably sure of the

lasting quality of the paint on your house, Mr. Homeowner? Mr. or Mrs. or Miss Taxpayer, is your city

engineer seeing to it that the material which is going

into your city pavements is good material, material

which will last, and yet is not excessively high in first cost? Can you tell whether he selects the material on the basis of careful tests or lets contracts on the

basis of friendship, or the glib promises of a sales- man ? But just what kind of tests do these modern prophets of structural stability use in their ritual prediction? Many kinds. Watch the operation of a big

concrete mixer on a job of road building. Every once

in a while a young chap comes along, takes a bucket

or two of concrete from the sticky stream pouring

out from the mixer, and pours this sample of concrete into molds in which the concrete hardens into

cylinders about the size and shape of a large baking

powder tin. Then after, say, a week these hardened

cylinders are “ tested to destruction ”

; that is, squeezed

to bits in a huge press which is fitted with heavy platform scales to weigh the pressure applied. If the

sample cylinders do not withstand a sufficiently high

pressure the concrete job is condemned, and it must

be torn up and the job done over again.

But sorhetimes material can be tested without destroying a sample of it. If you get a chance to examine the crank shaft of an automobile engine you will

find somewhere on it what looks like a little dimple.

That “ dimple ” is the test mark resulting from press- ing a two-eighth inch steel ball against the shaft with

a pressure of 6,600 pounds. The harder and stronger

the steel, the smaller the dimple. If in the factory a shaft comes to the inspector in which the test dimple

is too large, that shaft goes back to be tempered over

again.

Of course, the chemist with his test tubes and bal- ances and ability to tell what ingredients are present

in any material, and how much of each, is one of the

fraternity of materials prophets. If the chemist did

not inform the rail mill when there is too much phosphorus in the steel being rolled, we would have many

more railway accidents than we do, and if the chemist

did not keep the rubber manufacturer posted on how

much sulphur there is in the rubber we would have

much more tire trouble on our week-end trips, and

goodness knows we have enough in spite of his best

efforts. The women folks know what a mess men folks make

of matching colors, especially these new-fangled colors

which look so much alike to the masculine eye, and so different to the feminine. Good news ! The men who
MARCH, 1931 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY 273

are testing textiles and paints have come to realize

their limitations, and have taken up very seriously

the scientific measurement of color, and soon we hope

to be able to match colors to suit even women’s exact- ing requirements.

We must not omit mention of the prophets who use

the microscope and show just how metals are made

up of little crystalline grains, nor of the newest of the

schools of materials testers who make the X ray show

up hidden flaws in the inside of material and also show the pattern of arrangement of the molecules in a solid particle of which 300 end to end would just be

visible to the most powerful microscope.

The development of the science of testing materials is a comparatively recent thing. Perhaps the

first systematic testing of materials was done some

two and a half centuries ago in connection with insuring a standard quality of coinage. That gigantic fig- ure in the scientific world, Sir Isaac Newton, did not

think it beneath his dignity to spend many of the

best years of his life developing standards for metals

and processes in the British mint. However, the idea

of systematically testing the common materials of

everyday use is quite recent. The trouble of the early

railroads with axles and rails was a great factor in encouraging such testing. The Prussian State rail- ways back about 1850 and our oavu railways in “ the

gay 90’s ” began to demand materials whose strength

and ductility were not merely glibly promised by the

maker or by his salesman but were shown to exist by

actual tests. Speaking of buying materials on the reputation of

the maker without further testing, I remember in my

boyhood days the quality of steel in our jackknife

blades was judged by the reputation of the maker’s name. Back in New Hampshire the boy whose knife

blade bore the name Jonathan Crooks was sure he had

a superior article. Actually it was not at all difficult to stamp the name Jonathan Crooks on an inferior

blade, and many blades so stamped were sold. Fifty years ago there were very few standards tests or specifications for any of the ordinary materials in use; to-day there are some 10,000 well-recognized

standards for materials. We may decry overstandardization, but certainly we should have to do without

very many of the modern conveniences if standardized, preclictable materials ceased to be produced.

Now, it is obvious that before any test, whether

of strength or wear or color, can be accepted as a standard test for a material it must be shown that

the test really shows the presence or the absence of

the desired service qualities in the material. Some

spectacular tests really tell very little about these

qualities. There used to be a superstition that if an

elephant would set foot on a bridge the bridge was

safe. The huge animal was credited with a mysterious and infallible sense of safety. As a matter of

fact the slow steady tread of an elephant would not

be nearly so likely to cause the bridge to fail as would

the banging of a heavy motor truck, and no one

ascribes “ an infallible sense of safety ” to either the

truck or its driver.

But tests which are made with scientific apparatus

and which seem scientific may be as lacking in relia- bility as the elephant test. For example, the resist- ance of a metal to corrosion is sometimes prophesied

from the results of a test in which it is dipped in

strong acid for a few moments. The amount of metal

dissolved in the acid is taken as a measure of its corrodibility. As a matter of fact, a low loss of weight

in this test is no proof whatever that the metal will

resist ordinary rusting in air and smoke and rain

for long periods of time.

Sometimes material is tested by being subjected to two or three times the load it will have to stand in

service and if it withstands this test load without

fracture it is judged fit for use. This sort of overload

testing is rather dangerous. It can not be safely as- sumed that because heavy overload is safely carried

once, an ordinary load can be carried thousands of

millions of times. That one heavy overload may have

started tiny cracks in the material and under thousands of repetitions those cracks may spread—like the

crack in a glass show case—until a shaft or a beam

suddenly snaps in two without warning. Most of the

failures of materials in airplanes and high-speed machinery are of this class. “ Fatigue of metals ” is the

name given to the destructive action of these spreading

cracks.

Railway inspectors remove axles from locomotives

and from elevated and subway cars after a certain dis- tance has been run and examine them minutely for

evidences of the beginnings of such cracks, and if the

smallest crack is detected the axle goes to the scrap

heap.

Before putting much confidence in the statement

that a material has been “ tested ” it is well to find out

whether it has been tested by standard methods, methods recognized by some of the scientific bureaus of

the Government or by some technical society. It has come to be recognized that in devising tests and standards for materials it is vitally important that the in- terests of both manufacturer and consumer be considered. If the consumer alone is allowed to write

specifications for a material he is likely to set up a number of fussy requirements which do not add much

to the reliability of the material, but which do add

greatly to the cost. On the other hand, if the manufacturer alone is allowed to write specifications, he

will almost certainly see to it that the materials shall be easy and profitable to produce. These statements

are no reflection on the morals of either consumer or producer; they simply recognize the fact that every

man naturally overemphasizes his own viewpoint.

In the American Society for Testing Materials the

standards for materials and methods of test are pre- pared by some 50 committees—committees for steel and iron, for other metals, for concrete, brick, textiles,

timber, rubber, etc. The rules of the society require

that on each committee there must be representatives

of both the manufacturer and the consumer. Rarely

does the society accept the recommendations for a new

standard unless there has been practical unanimity

between manufacturers and consumers; that is, a proposed test or specification does not get recognized until

a representative group of manufacturers and consumers has talked it over and decided that it is reasonable,

safe, and useful.

Most of the actual testing of materials is not at all romantic to watch. However, the test of a material

for strength is an interesting sight to watch. A piece

of steel, aluminum, or copper is fastened in a powerful machine and is pulled. It stretches, “ necks

down ” like a piece of molasses candy, and finally
274 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY MARCH, 1931

breaks in two with a loud bang. A block of concrete

is compressed and finally splits into fragments. A

timber beam is bent into a flat bow and finally cracks

or splits noisily.

However, to the materials-testing prophet the ro- mance of his work lies mainly in what that work

means to the millions of men and women who are daily users of materials. He visualizes the aviator

successfully handling his plane in the air, trusting

confidently that the tested material in his wings, his

engine, and his propellor will withstand the severe

strains of flying; and in spite of the newness of the

art of building airplanes, this confidence is rarely

misplaced. The materials tester visualizes men and

women everywhere protected to an almost unbelievable extent against accidents in the home, on the street, in cars, and automobiles by the use of safe tested materials. He visualizes the farmer, the housewife, the

taxpayer given full value for the millions of dollars

expended for the materials used in building roads, sewers, water pipes, buildings, clothes, railway cars, autos,

and airplanes. He rejoices that he has a part in in- creasing the safety and comfort, and in lessening the

dangers of our modern mechanized life, and that he is giving folks more leisure and less anxiety so that they

will have more energy available for developing the

beautiful and good in their lives, if they will only be

wise enough to do so.

AMERICAN MARINE STANDARDS

Marine Standards Approved for Deck Drain, Cleats for Ships, Bollards, and Cleats for Docks

The following current information relating to developments in certain marine standardization projects

under the auspices and procedure of the American

Marine Standards Committee has been furnished by

that association.

Deck drain, trap type, with stop valve.—This standard was approved for promulgation by the executive

board on January 29. The standard is a fitting applicable to low decks in which a gravity drain is desirable under favorable service conditions but where

inflow might occur when the vessel is under propulsion

or in rough weather. It is in effect a development of

a standard deck drain with trap previously promulgated, by adding a stop valve.

Cleats for ships.—This standard, approved January

29, comprises three types of light cleat in sizes 10, 13,

16, 20, and 24 inches and one type of heavy cleat in

sizes 16, 20, 24, 30, 36, 42, 48, and 54 inches. These

standards cover all of the regular cleats likely to be

required on merchant ships and floating equipment.

Bollards and cleats for docks.—Four standards,

comprising five sizes of single bollards, cleats, and

bollard-cleats, also three sizes of double bollards, in- tended to constitute a complete series of standard

mooring fittings for wharves and piers, were approved

January 29. Rolled steel shapes for shipbuilding. —A ballot vote

of the membership is being obtained on proposed

BUILDERS’ TEMPLATE HARDWARE

As a result of a survey among the manufacturers to determine adherence to the Commercial Standard for

Builders’ Template Hardware, CS9-29, a summarized

report was released recently indicating that among

reporting manufacturers, 60.5 per cent of production

conformed to the requirements of the standard. It provides rather complete dimensional standards and

tolerances for the staple types and sizes of door

hinges with fixed locations of screw holes, offsets, and

other details. It also covers the details of a standard

standard lists intended to cover all ordinary requirements of rolled-steel shapes for construction of merchant ships. These lists comprise essential sizes of

equal angles, unequal angles, bulb angles, channels,

I beams, H sections, T sections, Z sections, Z-hatch

section, cope iron sections, and bulb plates. Although

the lists as presented cover shapes primarily intended

for riveted construction, all concerned are invited to suggest standard shapes for welded construction for

possible inclusion in a final draft of standards.

New publications.—The following have recently

been distributed : A. M. S. C67, Care and Operation of

Oil-Burning Apparatus and Handling of Fuel Oil on

Ships, and A. M. S. C71, Uniforms for Merchant

Marine Officers—Specifications of Garments and

Insignia.

These complete the group of numbers 1 to 75, inclusive, of these publications comprising 124 standards

classified as follows: Hull details, 63; engineering

(machinery) details, 33; ship operation details and

supplies, 27 ; and special subjects, 1. Classified and

alphabetical indexes covering all of the standards

comprised in this group are off the press and will be

distributed at an early date. Further information

desired regarding these standards is obtainable upon

application to the secretary of the American Marine

Standards Committee, Department of Commerce,

Washington, D. C.

lock front and strike for use with staple types of locks

in a standard “sinkage ” on hollow metal doors.

It is apparent, from the replies received, that this

standard has not been in use for a sufficient time to become thoroughly well established ; however, it is evident that considerable effort is being made by the

manufacturers toward eventual conformity with the

standard, and that its use is helpful to the industry.

In accordance with the recommendation of the

standing committee, which was appointed by the general conference to consider comment, the existing

standard was reaffirmed, without change, for another

year beginning September 18, 1930.
MARCH, 1931 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY 275

STANDARDIZATION IN AERONAUTICS

Standardization Has Been Important Factor in Aiding the Work of the Aeronautics Branch of the

Department of Commerce

By Clarence M. Young, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Aeronautics

Standardization and uniformity are ultimate results of careful planning, consistent action, and unity of

thought toward the achievement of a definite goal.

The elimination of mistakes and sometimes costly errors are results of uniform policies and plans of

procedure. Standardization of procedure is recognized as being the most practical and economical plan

in nearly all activities concerned with repeated action.

The formulation of definite rules and policies for

guidance in activities where repetition is involved, aids

in eliminating false steps and fallacious courses which

are costly both in their consumption of time and in their effect upon policies of sound economics. In at- tempts to exclude these evils, standardization has be- come one of the most valuable assets to business and

other organized activities. Aeronautics, being one of the newest industries,

offers untold possibilities for the establishment of

standard practices. As a new industry, it is inevitable

that a few unsound and uneconomical practices may

creep in without warning in some of its many phases.

Many of these evils can be eliminated by standardization, which most certainly has a definite place in the

field of aeronautics.

Standardization methods are needed for the guidance and assistance of the new industry as it grows

in order to bring about sound economic practices and

to exclude unwarranted mistakes. The trial-and- error method has no permanent place in established in- dustry, and aeronautics, although still young, may

definitely be placed in that category.

The necessity for standardization in aeronautics is becoming more and more apparent. The airplane has

abolished boundaries of travel. In the period before

the advent of the locomotive and automobile the dis- tance which could be traveled in a day was measured

in tens of miles. To-day it is measured in thousands.

It is possible to fly across the country in less time to- day than it took to travel 100 miles in the days before

fast means of transportation came into existence.

Department formulates plans.

With a full knowledge of the necessity of standardization, the Aeronautics Branch of the Department of Commerce has carefully planned its work

along well-defined and clearly-outlined courses of

action. It employs standardization in its establishment and maintenance of airways, rules and regulations governing air traffic, in its requirements for the

construction and operation of aircraft and engines, in

its licensing of pilots and planes, in its operation of

communication systems along the airways, and in

nearly all of its other activities. These functions of

the Aeronautics Branch are carried out by specified

methods, with the result that confusion and unwarranted consumption of time and money have been

eradicated.

The Aeronautics Branch proceeds through the use

of standard plans in the establishment of its airways

from the time that the survey is made until the last intermediate field is lighted and ready for operation.

It has also standardized its operation and mainte- nance of the airways after they have been established.

It has formulated certain plans of action and policies to follow which have resulted in uniformity

throughout. It employs the same type of equipment

on all of its airways and operates them all in an identical manner.

In the establishment of the Federal airways system,

standardization has been definitely chosen as an ally; a choice which has been well justified. This choice

has resulted in the establishment of 15,000 miles of

airways, uniform in their equipment, so that an air- man who has used the airways in the eastern portion

of the United States will find airways nearly identical

in nature and operation in the Western States. He

will find the same type of 24-inch, 1,000,000-candlepower beacon light every 10 miles. He will find the same general type of intermediate landing every 20

or 30 miles with the same type of equipment in the

State of California that he found in New York.

All intermediate fields are built according to standardized plans. They all are marked with a 50-foot

white circle at the intersections of the runway center

lines, with white panels 20 feet long and 2 feet wide

extending from the outside of the circle along the

runway center lines to indicate the landing directions.

The lighting is uniform on all intermediate fields,

consisting of boundary lights, a beacon light, course

lights, range lights, obstruction lights, and illuminated

wind indicator. A standard 24-inch revolving beacon

is provided at each field, with the exception that in mountainous or isolated regions it is sometimes neces- sary to install electric or acetylene beacons. The air- man may expect to find the fields lighted and marked

in an identical manner, for landing either by day or by

night.

The airman will also find the same type of service

rendered by the automatic telegraph tj^pewriter cir- cuits, furnishing him with the same type of weather

information in all parts of the country. The radiocommunication stations and equipment which are used

for the broadcasting of the information gathered for

him by the automatic telegraph typewriter circuits are standardized to a very high degree ; they are even housed in buildings which are built to standards.

Safety through standardization.

The standardization has resulted in features of

safety and reliability which have been justified on many occasions. It has made it possible for air trans- portation, both scheduled and private, in nearly every

section of the country to proceed over the Department of Commerce airways in as regular and uniform

a way, as do automobiles over arterial highways. The
276 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY MARCH, 1931

procedure employed in establishing and maintaining

units has been carefully planned and the work is di- vided among different units of the airways division, as folloAvs : Survey, weather and communications,

construction, and radio.

The survey unit determines airway routings, selects

sites for beacon and landing fields, and concludes all negotiations for licensing these sites and for conditioning the fields for use by aircraft. The construction unit arranges for the purchase and shipment of

all lighting equipment and supervises its erection and

installation under contract or by airways division field forces. The weather and communications unit selects,

establishes, and supervises the operations of airways

weather reporting stations and airways communication stations. The radio unit designs, procures, and

supervises the erection and installation of radio equipment for communications stations and radiobeacons.

All units have definite methods and standards to guide

them.

Standardization is employed in the regulation of

aeronautics, to protect the flying public and the areo- nautic industry by obviating as far as possible in- sufficiently trained pilots and unairworthy arcraft. All of the regulatory functions of the aeronautics

branch are coordinated under the director of air regulation. The director of air regulation and his staff are primarily concerned with the construction and

operation of civil aircraft in all its phases. By determining and enforcing definite standards of safety,

this organization has established and maintained public confidence, and thereby played an important part

in the phenomenal growth of air commerce and of

the aircraft industry. This work includes the inspection and approval of airplanes and flying schools; the

examination and licensing of pilots, mechanics, and

flying school instructors; and all field work in connection with engineering inspection.

The Aeronautics Branch has standardized its licensing of pilots to the extent that certain requirements must be met before the license is issued. Before

the student is allowed to take instruction it is required

that he pass a physical examination and procure a student permit.

An airplane to be eligible for general commercial

use shall comply with the airworthiness requirements

of the air commerce regulations, which constitute a

set of rules embodying requirements for structurally

airworthy aircraft which serves as a guide to the

aircraft industry as to what will be required on new

designs.

The manufacturer submits to the Aeronautics

Branch the design of the aircraft he proposes to build.

When this design has been approved the manufacturer

is required to present for inspection an aircraft built

to that particular design. The aircraft itself is not

only examined to determine if it is built according

to the design submitted, it is also checked for details

in design, workmanship, and materials to see that

certain standards of airworthiness have been complied

with.

The aircraft is then weighed and thoroughly flight

tested to make sure that it satisfies the stability re- quirements of the Aeronautics Branch. Even the fac- tory is inspected to determine whether it is suitably

manned and equipped to produce aircraft similar to the design submitted.

Manufacturer’s certificate.

When the Aeronautics Branch has decided that its requirements have been fully complied with the manufacturer is issued an approved type certificate which

entitles him to build aircraft of exact similarity to an approved model, which aircraft is then eligible

for commercial licenses, so long as the workmanship,

materials, and design are adhered to according to re- quired standards and are found by periodic inspection

to be in airworthy condition.

The air-commerce regulations provide that all air- planes engaged in interstate commerce shall be

equipped with power plants of a type approved by the

Aeronautics Branch. Although there are no standard

requirements as to weight per horsepower or fuel or oil consumption per horsepower-hour for these

engines, they are required to meet certain standards

of design, material, workmanship, and performance.

Before engines are approved they shall demonstrate

their efficiency by actual test. Principal among the

tests to which each individual type of aircraft engine

is subjected by the Aeronautics Branch is a 50-hour

“endurance run.” This test is run off in 10 different

periods of 5 hours each. Before the engine is submitted to the Aeronautics Branch for test it shall have

been run for at least 25 hours by the manufacturer.

Air traffic rules. In a continuation of its policy of supervising air- craft for the protection and safety of those who use them, the Aeronautics Branch has placed in effect

air-traffic rules governing the operation of aircraft.

These rules, which form a part of the air-commerce

regulations, shall be complied with by all aircraft,

licensed or unlicensed, whether flown privately or en- gaged in interstate or intrastate commerce, and at

all times. The air-traffic rules form a standard of

requirements for the navigation, protection, and identification of aircraft, and include rules as to safe alti- tudes of flight and rules for the prevention of

collisions. Realizing that a suitable, economical, and comprehensive plan for the radio requirements of aviation

should be adopted, certain frequencies have been set aside solely for the use of aircraft, and rules governing their use have been placed in effect. For the purpose of surrounding air lines engaged

in the scheduled transportation of passengers in in- terstate commerce, with all possible safeguards and

with the view of providing air transportation with

virtually the same uniformity of operation as is now

enjoyed by the major railroads and steamship services, the Department of Commerce has prepared and

promulgated a supplement to the air-commerce regulations requiring the operators of scheduled air- transport services in interstate commerce to obtain

from the Secretary of Commerce a certificate of au- thority to operate such service. The certificate of authority is issued only to those

operators who effect complete compliance with the

regulations and in the interpretations thereunder.

These regulations constitute a standard or code of

minimum requirements governing the operation of

scheduled interstate air-passenger routes and are ex- pected to bring about unprecedented records of safety

and reliability in this phase of civil aeronautics.
MARCH, 1931 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY 277

These requirements specify, among other things, that

aircraft shall be provided with suitable instruments

and equipment; that they shall be adaptable to the

nature of the service involved ; that an adequate number of qualified airmen be employed; and that the

equipment be maintained in a certain manner.

Realizing that there exists an urgent need for the

development of standard- signal systems suitable for

both day and night use, for controlling air traffic on and in the vicinity of airports, and for communicating

special information to pilots, the Aeronautics Branch

has organized a special research committee to study

such systems. This committee is making a comprehensive study of the subject and will report its findings and recommendations.

Uniform laws.

The Aeronautics Branch is encouraging the adoption of uniform laws by States in order that the re- quirements to be met by aircraft and their operators

will be the same throughout the United States. The

adoption of uniform State laws will go a long way

toward developing and simplifying the operation of

aircraft on a nation-wide basis. In an effort to bring about uniformity in airport

field rules throughout the United States, the Aeronautics Branch has prepared a set of suggested rules

for adoption by owners of airports and landing fields. The uniform held rules have been printed in bulletin

form and have been given wide distribution.

Standardization is also employed in the classifica- tion and approval of schools giving instruction in flying, which are classed as flying schools, ground

schools, or ground and flying schools. These schools are examined and rated by the Aeronautics Branch

upon application.

The Aeronautics Branch endeavors to bring about a certain amount of standardization in the design and

construction of airports. Under its airport rating

regulations, the department will rate airports, on application, as to the general equipment and facilities; the effective landing area, and the aeronautic lighting

equipment. The ratings are designated by symbols,

such as “AlA” which is the highest rating given.

However, the regulations set forth the minimum re- quirements for each rating and, hence, it should be

borne in mind that airports limited to the requirements for an “AlA” rating will not necessarily be

adequate to meet the needs of every community or

service. In addition to bringing about a certain

amount of standardization in the design and construction of airports, the rating serves to indicate clearly

to a pilot who is not familiar with the rated airport,

the extent of the facilities available.

Obviously, the adoption of standard practices has

proved extremely beneficial in the activities of the

Aeronautics Branch. The order, lack of confusion,

and the absence of complexities in the execution of its many functions are due in a large part to the early

realization of the need for well-defined policies, plans,

and programs of action.

The merits of standardization are well demonstrated

in the thousands of miles of airways established by the

Aeronautics Branch which have helped to make it possible for air transport to be operated more than 100,000

miles on schedule every 24 hours, safely and reliably,

and for aircraft employed in private and miscellaneous

operations to be flown untold thousands of miles in

safety. They are again shown in the great degree of

airworthiness attained in present-day aircraft; in the

efficiency of power plants, and in the competency of

pilots.

As the areonautic industry continues to grow, standardization will play an ever-increasing part in the

development of sound business practices and in the

elimination of waste.

THE NEW STANDARDS YEARBOOK FOR 1931 JUST ISSUED

400 Pages of Standardization News in the Fifth Edition

The Standards Yearbook for 1931, outlining the activities and accomplishments of not only the Federal

Government but also those of States, municipalities,

and trade associations, is just off the press. A special feature of the book for this year is the

symposium on standardization in transport. Experts

in many lines contribute articles. These relate to research and experiment in aviation, automotive and

highway development and safety, railroads, pipe lines,

elevators, marine navigation, the transmission of

speech and power, and the important activities of the

Federal Government and other national agencies

engaged in promoting standardization in transport on

land and water, and in the air. In addition, the book contains outlines of the standardization activities of the Federal Government; an annual bibliography on standardization, prepared by

the Library of Congress; standardization activities of

municipal, county, and State purchasing agencies;

standardization programs of American technical societies and trade associations; a summary of the work

in standardization conducted by the special national

standards associations of the various countries—an important and broad-scale picture of standardization.

World-wide cooperation by international organizations in solving international standardization problems is reviewed in a special chapter.

The 1931 Standards Yearbook is the fifth edition of

the document. It is the standardization reference

book, summarizing and bringing up to date, under

one cover, the reports of current standardization

activity and accomplishment of hundreds of technical

organizations in the United States and around the

world. It is designed to keep all interested in standardization well informed and in touch with all the

important developments in America and the nationwide developments in standardization in other countries. An important feature is the review of the

year’s scientific and technical achievements of the

standardizing laboratories of England, France, Germany, and of the United States. The Superintendent of Documents, Government

Printing Office, Washington, D. C., now has the book

on sale. The price is $1 per copy.
278 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY MARCH, 1931 THE STANDARDS ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA

Organization Receives Support of the Government; Technical Work Carried on in Two Divisions, Namely,

Standards and Simplified Practice

By W. Rayner Hebblewhite, General Secretary, Standards Association of Australia

The Standards Association of Australia was formed

in 1929 by the amalgamation of the Australian

Commonwealth Engineering Standards Association

(founded 1922) and the Australian Commonwealth

Association of Simplified Practice (founded 1927).

It is the body officially recognized as the authority

for promulgating national standards in Australia,

and receives the indorsement of the Commonwealth

and State Governments and their departments, and

of the professional, industrial, trade, and commercial

organizations of Australia.

The association has complete autonomy, but in order

that the Commonwealth Government may be kept

informed of the association’s progress and its requirements and may thus be enabled the more effectively to render assistance, a liaison has been provided

through the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, which is under the ministerial control of the

vice president of the executive council of the Commonwealth Government.

The association is governed by a council comprising

representatives appointed by the Governments of the

Commonwealth and each State, the Institution of

Engineers, Australia, Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Australian Chemical Institute,

Royal Australian Institute of Architects, Federated

Master Builders’ Association, Australian and New

Zealand Railways Conference, Associated Chambers of

Manufacturers of Australia, Associated Chambers of

Commerce of the Commonwealth of Australia, Bureau of Steel Manufacturers of Australia, and the

Federal and State store-purchasing departments.

The technical work of the association is directed

by two divisions—standards and simplified practice

and by a special committee for power survey, which

is engaged in a survey of the power resources of the

Commonwealth and their development and coordination. In the standards division, specifications are drafted

by sectional committees of the usual representative

character, and these, as necessary, appoint subcommittees and panels for the allocation of specific

sections of work. In order to secure suitable collaboration in the preparation of specifications that are of

general interest to two or more sectional committees,

each of the committees concerned appoints representatives to a coordinating committee whose decisions are, however, referred back to the parent sectional committees for indorsement.

Specifications, when drafted, are printed and cir- culated widely in proof form for public comment

prior to final review and publication. In preparing

standard specifications, the national and institutional

standards of other countries are studied in order that no unnecessary departure shall be made from the best current practice. In particular, it is the policy of the

association to follow British standard practice as closely as local conditions and requirements will allow

without detriment.

The simplified practice division does not, as a rule,

appoint permanent committees. After a careful staff investigation of any project, and compilation of statistical data as to relative production and sales numbers, a report on the position is placed before a representative conference, and a draft recommendation

approved. It is then reviewed by similar conferences

in other States of the Commonwealth. The final stage

in the drafting is the coordination of State views for

the issue of a recommendation representing the con- sensus of opinion throughout the Commonwealth.

Before final adoption a recommendation must receive

the indorsement of 80 per cent of suppliers by volume

of trade. The procedure is based on that established

by the division of simplified practice of the National

Bureau of Standards of the United States. Association aided by others.

The association receives recognition from all the

principal organizations representing scientific, technical, industrial, and commercial interests and from

governing authorities. Assistance is rendered both

financially and by voluntary technical service. The

Federal Government contributes the greater part of

the association’s total revenue and some State governments assist in lesser degree. All are officially repre- sented both on the council and on technical and administrative committees, the senior technical officers usually being appointed.

Local government authorities give similar recognition in proportion to the extent of their operations.

Organizations and firms, besides contributing the services of their officers in committee work, enroll as subscribing members of which there are about 350. The

rate of subscription is voluntary, subject to a minimum

annual fee of about $10 for individuals and $15 for

commercial interests, and ranges up to a maximum of

$500 for private corporations or $5,000 from the combined railway systems for departmental bodies.

Technical societies and universities give every possible

support, in some instances appointing their own committees to collaborate with those of the association.

The association has published 135 approved specifications and reports and an additional 30 draft specifications have been issued for criticism. Of these,

about 60 deal with the electrical industry, 40 with the

paint and varnish industry, and 30 with railway per- manent way and rolling stock. In smaller numbers

the others relate to iron and steel, cement and concrete,

pipes and fittings, plumbing accessories, machine parts

and accessories, chemical industry, and other subjects.

Codes of growing importance.

A section of considerable and growing importance

is that classified under the general and somewhat
MARCH, 1931 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY 279

inadequate title of safety codes. In addition to codes

of procedure for safeguarding human life and property, there are those which embody also considerations of design and erection. Such are the model reg- ulations dealing, respectively, with concrete and reinforced concrete structures and with steel-frame buildings. There are also codes for lift installations, cranes and hoists, and boilers and unfired pressure

vessels. The foregoing and a code of electrical wiring

rules are in course of preparation, some being now

prepared for draft issue. Two of particular importance are the boiler code and

the wiring rules. The boiler code has been prepared

during the past two years with the assistance of a great number of departmental officers and private ex- perts in order to remedy the disabilities attending the use of uncoordinated and somewhat inadequate regulations in force in the respective States of the Commonwealth. The code will be a comprehensive compilation dealing thoroughly with boiler and unfired

pressure vessel design, erection, maintenance, and in- spection.

The electrical wiring rules, in general use in Australia, were framed by The Institution of Engineers,

Australia. Recently, at the request of the institution,

the association undertook the revision, extension, and

subsequent direction of the rules. A draft of the new

rules is now about to be issued and will be influenced

by the results of recent investigation and by modern

developments in the electrical industry.

No simplified practice recommendations have yet

been published, but good progress has been made with

a number of projects, many of which indicate striking

possibilities of reduction in diversification similar to that which has attracted world-wide attention to the

simplification achievements of the United States of

America.

The banking and allied interests in Australia, not- withstanding the characteristic conservatism of such

bodies, have enthusiastically adopted the principle of

simplification as applied to bank checks and other

documents, and a most interesting recommendation

on this project is likely to be published very shortly.

Other subjects under attention and well advanced are plywood door panels, road-gully gratings, shovels,

sheet-metal guttering, ridging, and downpiping, laminated steel springs for automobiles, and buildingmaterial classification. Of the reports of the power survey committee, that

relating to the coal resources of Australia is of particular interest. The latest figures available have been

included in this report, which deals comprehensively

with the geological and geographical distribution of

the various coal fields, the chemical and physical characters of the different coals, and the suitability of

such coals for various purposes and industries. A re- port on power alcohol treats the subject from the point

of view of a potential source of power in the Commonwealth. A further report describes progress in the development of combustion of Victorian brown coal. The association has in course of printing a handbook of loose-leaf form. Periodical supplementary

leaflets for inclusion in this will give particulars of

progress and additions to the list of publications.

Annual reports are also issued, the first being the

report for the association’s activities to June 30, 1930.

In international activities the association is represented by its power survey committee, which is bjr Government authority the Australian National Committee for World Power Conference, and by its elec- trical committee, which is the Australian Committee

of the International Electrotechnical Commission.

These two committees are actively participating in

their respective international movements.

KNIT UNDERWEAR RECOMMENDATION APPROVED

Standard for Knit Underwear, Exclusive of Rayon, Provides Methods of Measurement and Standard

Measurements

Standard methods of measurement and standard

measurements for the guidance of producers, distributors, and users of knit underwear, in order to eliminate confusion resultant of the diversity of measure- ments and methods now in use, and to establish a uniform basis for guaranteeing full size of the gar- ment, is provided in a proposed commercial standard

for knit underwear (exclusive of rayon) which was

approved by a general conference of the industry,

held February 19, 1931, at the National Bureau of

Standards.

The proposal is to be submitted to the industry for

written acceptance. After a sufficient number have

indicated, in writing, their willingness to adhere to the standard, and no serious objections are raised, the

bureau will publish it as an official standard of the

industry.

In addition to the provisions of the standard as mentioned above, there is contained a system of standard symbols for designating different models or tjqies

of knitted underwear to be used in marking underwear

boxes. Symbols other than those proposed can be

added from time to time as necessity arises, but it is believed that the present proposal about covers the

field complete^.

An important section of the standard is devoted to Suggested Method of Washing Wool and Wool-Cotton

Knit Underwear.

On recommendation of a representative from the

rayon industry, the conference agreed to set aside all items of rayon knit underwear for consideration sep- arately by a later conference, since the rayon industry

is endeavoring to standardize measurement for all the

major items of knit underwear.

Subject to the acceptance of the standard, in writing, by the industry, the conference provided that it should become effective January 1, 1932.

43G15—31 3
280 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY MARCH, 1931 STANDARD APPROVED FOR COLORED SANITARY WARE

General Conference Approved Proposed Standard Which is Now to be Submitted to Industry for Signed

Acceptance

For many years manufacturers of colored sanitary ware have encountered costly problems due to the

multiplicity of colors that are expensive to manufacture, impracticable to stock, and unsatisfactory to sell. The increasing variety of colors has resulted in a lack

of harmony especially when one manufacturer supplies, for example, the porcelain lavatory, another the

enameled iron bathtub, and still another the vitreous

china water-closet bowl.

The first step in a program to clarify this condition

has been taken in the development of a commercial

standard covering colors to be used as a guide in the

production of plumbing fixtures and allied products,

made of vitreous china, porcelain (all-clay), enameled iron, metals, wood, or glass. The proposed standard was presented to a general conference of the

various component parts of the industry held January

23, 1931, at the National Bureau of Standards, and

approved by that conference for submittal to the

industry for acceptance.

According to W. Keith McAfee, chairman of the

Manufacturers’ Advisory Committee on Colored Sanitary Ware, the development of individual colors for

special pieces, as for example, drinking fountains,

and the matching of colors for special work, will not come within the scope of this commercial standard.

At the same time he pointed out that it is not the purpose of this recommended standard to retard initiative on the part of individual producers or to act as a brake on the introduction of new colors. Bather is

it intended to provide an authoritative reference to the recommendations of the industry as a Avhole based on composite experience of the producers.

The conference recommended six colors as standard

for sanitary ware to be designated as follows: SC-11,

green; SC-20, orchid; SC-30, ivory; SC-40, blue;

SC-51, light brown; and SC-60, black. It was further stipulated that the standard median shade

samples should be retained at the National Bureau

of Standards. Duplicate reference median shade

samples may be obtained from the secretary of the

Manufacturers Advisory Committee on Colored Sanitary Ware as a basis for production control.

This committee has fixed light and dark limits of

shades for each color, and samples are to be retained

at the National Bureau of Standards. Such samples

will be available to the industry only for the settle- ment of disputes. While any shade within these lim- !

its will, no doubt, conform with the requirements,

the industry will make every effort to have finished

items conform as nearly as possible to the selected

median shades.

The committee recommended to the industry,

through the agency of this standard, that secrecy in

connection with the subject of colored glazes and

enamels be eliminated. In order that manufacturers

may have a thorough understanding concerning col- ored glazes, formulas, firing temperatures, and other

related information have been filed with the National

Bureau of Standards, and will be available upon

request.

“ In the standardization of colors for sanitary

ware,” said G. W. Wray, of the division of trade

standards of the National Bureau of Standards, under

whose auspices the conference was held, “ it should

be borne in mind that an absolute match of shades

is neither possible nor necessarjq but the shades

should match as nearly as the differences in the character of materials, lighting conditions, and manufacturing processes permit. Perhaps the most difficult problem to contend with in color matching arises in

trying to match one type of colored surface with an- other of an entirely different texture.

“ Certain coloring materials possess qualities that

alter their appearance under different conditions of

production,” he said, adding that “ daylight is usually

considered white and Is the proper type of illumination under which colors should be examined. Daylight, however, is variable throughout the day. Colors

that match in natural light are often different when

compared under artificial light. Colorists have more

or less universally adopted north skylight as standard

for matching colors.” He emphasized the point that no attempt should be made to match colors from

memory.

In accordance with the procedure of the National

Bureau of Standards, the recommended commercial

standard, as approved by the conference, is to be

mimeographed and mailed to all elements of the in- dustry. When a satisfactory majority have signed

the acceptance form and returned it to the bureau, and

in the absence of active opposition, the recommendations will be officially promulgated by the Department

of Commerce in printed form. The recommendation, subject to the written acceptance by industry, is to take effect July 1, 1931.

SCANDINAVIAN STANDARDS FOR PLANED

LUMBER MOLDINGS

The multiplicity of moldings for planed lumber in

the Scandinavian countries have caused many inconveniences for both foreign and domestic consumers. In 1929 the interested parties in Sweden, Finland, and

Norway organized to prepare a Scandinavian standard “ Norges Industriforbund ” (The Norwegian Manufacturers Association) was asked to formulate a proposal. This proposal, which was distributed some

time ago, was discussed at a recent meeting in Oslo,

attended by delegates from Sweden and Norway.

Although not represented at the meeting, Finland has

agreed to accept the findings of the Oslo meeting.

After several days of discussion, the delegates

agreed to certain standards for moldings. Representatives of Swedish and Norwegian woodworking

machinery builders who were present at the .meeting

agreed to the proposals. Detailed specifications are

to be published.
MARCH, 1931 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY 281

STANDARD PRIMARY RADIO-FREQUENCY

Beat-Frequency Recorder Determines Constancy of Oscillators ; Automatic Camera Photographs Counters

By Charles G. McIlweaith, National Bureau of Standards

The orderly operation of the whole system of radiocommunications is dependent on the accurate mainte- nance of frequency by each transmitting station. The

communication channels are so crowded that if trans- mitters were allowed to wander from their assigned

places in the frequency spectrum chaos would result. To maintain a sufficiently constant frequency, a transmitter must possess a frequency meter of such

accuracy that a few years ago it would liaise been

considered a most precise laboratory instrument.

Hence, laboratory standards for use to-day must be

of extraordinary accuracy. Indeed, the most accurate frequency measurements now are of the same order of

precision as the best spectroscopic results, which have

long been considered the ne plus ultra of physical

measurements.

The National Bureau of Standards is the national

standardizing laboratory; hence, it maintains in its radio section, a primary frequency standard whose

accuracy is much higher than any of the frequency

meters in commercial use. The apparatus was designed and built by a commercial organization, and

has been described in several publications. It consists essentially of four independent standards (see

illustration), each of which is an oscillator oj.

1 source

of radio current, and a large group of associated apparatus whose purpose is to indicate and record the

performance of the oscillators. Each oscillator has a frequency of 100 kilocycles;

that is, 100,000 cycles per second. The frequency of

each oscillator is controlled by means of a piezo-electric plate of crystalline quartz. Because temperature

has a marked effect on the frequency of vibration of a quartz plate, it is necessary to protect these plates

from temperature changes. This is done by putting

the plate in an aluminum-walled chamber, provided

with an electrical heater and a thermostat. The thermostat is a refinement of the device of the same name

used for regulating the operation of a furnace, and

maintains the temperature inside the aluminum

chamber nearly constant, the variations being less than 1/100° C. To protect the plate from large

changes in room temperature, the regulated chamber

and the circuits associated with it are placed in a box where the temperature is regulated by a coarse thermostat, the variations being about 1° C. Since atmospheric pressure has an effect on the fre- quency of the crystal, it is placed under a bell jar, and

the air partially exhausted. This protects it from

changes of pressure, and also serves as a convenient means for making small adjustments in the frequency

of the crystal.

The four standard piezo oscillators mounted in their temperature-controlled cases
282 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY MARCH, 1931

The voltages of the filament and plate supply to the vacuum tubes, used in the circuits associated with the

crystal, also have a small effect on its frequency, so they are automatically regulated.

Determining the constancy of oscillators.

To determine how constant the four oscillators are, use is made of a beat- frequency recorder. The fourth

oscillator is arbitrarily chosen as a reference point

with which to compare the others. The beat fre- quencies between the first and fourth, second and

fourth, and third and fourth oscillators are indicated

by the recorder, and a supplementary device counts

the beats by means of electrically operated counters. An automatic camera photographs the counters at the

end of 1,000-second intervals. In 1,000 seconds each

oscillator makes approximately 100,000,000 oscilla- tions. By counting the beats, it is possible to detect

variations of one part in 100,000,000.

To determine the absolute value of the frequency

of any one oscillator, use is made of a device called a submultiple generator. This consists of a vacuumtube oscillator purposely made unstable. A fre- quency, which is an exact harmonic of that of the

oscillator, is injected into the grid and plate circuits. The conditions being right, the submultiple generator

will then allow itself to be controlled by the injected

frequency and will oscillate at an exact submultiple

of the injected frequency.

By using two such circuits the 100-kilocycle current from the piezo oscillator is stepped down to 1 kilocycle, without introducing any unknown variations

whatsoever in the frequency. The 1-kilocycle current

is amplified and runs a synchronous motor, which is geared to a clock. The gearing is such that when the

input to the motor is 1 kilocycle; that is, when the

frequency of the crystal is 100 kilocycles exactly, the

clock keeps mean solar time. Knowing the rate of

gain or loss of the clock, one can easily calculate how

much above or below 100 kilocycles the crystal fre- quency is. The clock is rated against the clocks at the

Naval Observatory by means of radio time signals

from station NAA. Apparatus for automatically taking these time signal records is installed.

The results obtained have been gratifying. The apparatus has been in operation about a year. The fre- quency is known at any time to about 2 or 3 parts in

10,000,000. The oscillators show random variations of

about 1 part in 10,000,000.

The net result is that the National Bureau of Standards has a group of four oscillators, the frequency of

each being known to better than 1 part in 1,000,000,

and each having random variations of about 1 part in

10,000,000. By means of the automatic beat-frequency

recorder, a constant watch is kept on the behavior of

each oscillator with respect to the group of four. If one oscillator goes bad, it can be detected at once. However, if the four oscillators keep their relative positions, it is safe to assume that they have all remained

constant, as the chance that four independent units

should all go bad at the same time, in the same direction,

and by the same amount, is infinitesimal. Thus, the

nation’s primary frequency standard carries its own

checking device to detect mistakes or error in operation.

INDUSTRY NEEDS UNIFORM SAFETY MEASURES

Safety Engineer of A. S. A., Says Several States Have Already Approached Problem Through Adoption of

National Standards

At least 1,000 deaths, 125,000 injuries, and a money

loss of $40,000,000 is the annual toll exacted because

of needless disagreements in the industrial safety

regulations of the various States. This statement was made by Cyril Ainsworth, safety engineer of the

American Standards Association in an address before

a joint meeting of the Safety Engineers’ Club of

Baltimore and the Baltimore section of the American

Society of Mechanical Engineers.

The States which prepare their own local safety

regulations, instead of agreeing on national safety

codes, place an obstacle in the way of effective guarding of industrial machines by manufacturers of the

machines, he declared. Their adherence to national

industrial safety codes, he said, would inevitably be

followed by better mechanical guarding of hazardous

machines and a substantial reduction in the yearly

industrial accident toll, which at present amounts to 25,000 deaths, 3,000,000 injuries, and approximately

$1,000,000,000 in money loss to workers and employers.

Responsibility can be definitely placed on the States

because the machine-tool industry has declared itself

“ready and willing to do all that it can toward the

equipping of machines with adequate guards at the

point of manufacture as soon as there is brought about some degree of harmony in existing regulations.”

Such a statement is a definite challenge to the entire

accident-prevention movement and to all those asso- ciated in any way with the movement. There are many indications that the challenge is being accepted

and met. The action taken by the industrial commission of Maryland in adopting, verbatim, 20 national

safety standards; that taken by Nebraska in basing

its recently adopted standards on the national standards; that taken by such States as Pennsylvania, New

Jersey, New York, Ohio, California, and several

others in basing their regulations on the national

standards and adopting many standards without

change, are concrete evidences of progress that is being made.

In addition, many States, including Virginia, West

Virginia, Maine, Tennessee, and Idaho, have

appointed commissions to consider the necessity and

desirability of passing legislation that will permit

the adoption of national safety regulations, he said.
MARCH, 1931 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY 283

HOME REPAIRS AND EMPLOYMENT

National Bureau of Standards Aids in Relieving Unemployment

By C. O. Christensen, National Bureau of Standards

An important relationship exists at present between

home repairs and the employment situation. Stimulating home repairs tends to create employment. In

this connection the National Bureau of Standards has

assisted governmental and civic committees by pre- paring home-repair lists for use in promoting odd-job

employment through direct-mail and personal contact with home owners. The bureau, in its regular work on building practice and home builders’ problems, answers requests

for information on such points as repairing leaky

basements, leaky roofs, and the use of the best construction methods. It prepared National Bureau of

Standards Letter Circular No. 287, particularly to

assist home owners. This pamphlet lists most of the

available material issued through Government or- ganizations and national trade associations covering

home building and home maintenance.

A manuscript prepared by a member of the bureau

staff entitled “ Care and Repair of the Home ” 1 was

written to aid the home owner in the upkeep of his

house, to enable him to make simple repairs when

necessary, and to better understand the house construction. The book contains practical information on inspection and repair of walls, roofs, basements,

doors and windows, weatherstripping, etc. In the organization of the President’s Emergency

Committee for Employment the need for a separate

women’s division was early recognized. Among the

important tasks of the local committees on employment which have been organized in more than 300

cities and towns to stimulate “ Spruce-up-your-home ” campaigns have been practical attempts to bring to- gether the unenrployed worker and the available job.

The committee organization strongly believed that

jobs are better than relief and that odd-job employment is especially important at this time.

1 The book is now being published in paper covers by the National Bureau of Standards and also in' cloth-bound form by a commercial

publisher.

Not only is the home improved at a small expenditure but the men who receive badly needed pay spend

it promptly, thus getting the money into general trade

channels at once. In accordance with the plans of

the President’s Emergency Committee for Employment, the National Bureau of Standards prepared a detailed “Check List For Possible Repairs and Improvements in the Home and Its Equipment,” which was based on the book “ Care and Repair of the

Home.” This pamphlet calls attention to many small

items of upkeep and repair which ordinarily might

not be observed. The check-list idea has been used

extensively in different cities by local groups in furthering the “Spruce-up-your-home ” wise-spending

campaign.

Typical examples of local committee work are as follows

:

The Mayor’s Committee on Stabilization of Employment in Buffalo, N. Y., for instance, sends a mailing card to home owners which lists various odd jobs

around the house. These jobs are checked and the

card is returned to the committee. Return cards

which are inclosed with household bills from the

public utilities are to be mailed to the women’s division of the local committee requesting either men or women workers at a specified time and price per hour.

Washington has a local committee composed of 64

civic groups—The Federation of Citizens Association

Special Committee on Unemployment. This committee also uses the card check list system for readily

locating odd job employment.

Springfield, Ohio, offers a specific instance of odd

job stimulation. This city reports an increase of 48

per cent in alteration permits for October, 1930,

against October, 1929.

The check list has been especially helpful to the

smaller cities where local employment organizations

are not maintained. On February 1, 1931, this committee had directly reached 20,000 home owners with

the check list. This number, it must be remembered,

is only supplementary to a much larger circulation

issued directly through the local committees.

STANDARD CUT LUMBER FACILITATES CONSTRUCTION

A radical departure from standard construction for

apartment partition walls has been developed by a firm of architects in Seattle, Wash., according to an announcement made last month by the National Lumber Manufacturers Association. Lumber, tonguedand-grooved, 2 by 6, is mostly cut to length for partition use before it is first used in forms for the

concrete construction. After it has been used in shoring, bracing, stringers, and soffit boards, it is taken

down and built into mill construction partitions.

The typical partition consists of the 2 by 6’s set up

vertically, making a solid 2-inch wall. For sound-resistant partitions, this wall is covered with soundinsulating material on both sides and plastered. For

minor partitions it may be lathed with wood lath. Where wood lath is used, it is furred out by lath

strips set vertically at about 16-inch centers, and

the whole nailed through to the 2 by 6 inch core. This construction is extremely solid, sturdy, and

resistant to fire and sound; but being thinner than

standard hollow walls, effects a saving in space. All

the floor formwork is used in the partitions. The

only waste consists of the cleats and possible odd

lengths, most of which are used up in the partitions over doorways, etc. The wall is almost air tight, even

before lath and plaster are applied. The construction is simple. Workmen are able to go through with

the various steps quickly.
284 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY MARCH, 1931 STANDARDIZATION MOVEMENT IN CANADA

Cooperative Policy of Canadian Engineering Standards Association with Industrial Representatives Aids

Solution of Various Industrial Problems

By B. Stuart McKenzie, Secretary, Canadian Engineering Standards Association

The object of all manufacturers is to sell their product, and business prosperity depends upon the activity

of the buyer. The buyer, or the purchasing agent, is therefore a most important personage, and one whose

friendly cooperation in industrial affairs should be

cultivated. It is particularly expedient that close re- lations be established and maintained between purchasing agents’ associations and national standardizing bodies, for the prime object of these latter bodies

is to bring the buyer and seller into friendly contact,

and thus enable them to come to an understanding

which will be of mutual financial benefit. This re- sults in good quality and fair prices, encourages buying, and is thus a great factor in promoting an active

market.

In any discussion of the industrial standardization

movement the subject of specifications comes at once

into the picture. The main work of all standardizing bodies consists in preparing and encouraging the

circulation and adoption of industrial specifications

which can be relied upon, which adequately cover the

situation, and which have been carefully thought out by all the parties concerned—that is, by both manufacturers and users and the necessary technical advisers. Specifications should, therefore, be practical

documents, not scientific treatises; should be brief

and above all be characterized by their eminent com- mon sense. There is a feeling of security in the use

of such a specification, for since it has been prepared

by the cooperative effort of all interests, it is bound

to be more comprehensive and accurate than one

prepared by individual effort. An industrial specification may be defined as “the

concrete expression of an agreement between manufacturers and users as to design or quality of a manufactured article, which agreement has been

reached by friendly conference and is recommended

for adoption as being in the best interests of all concerned.'’ Too much emphasis can not be laid on the

idea of “ friendly conference,” for in this way only can suspicions be allayed, misunderstandings cleared

up, and a reasonable solution of the particular problem obtained.

Practically all standard specifications covering material include provisions for tests, which have been

devised as the result of long practical experience.

It is most important that buyers should become fa- miliar with these tests and to that end purchasing

agents, inspectors, and designing engineers are advised to consult together frequently. In most cases purchases are made with cost as the prime consideration, but performance or durability is after all the

ruling factor. The first cost of an article may be

twice that of a similar article but it may last three

times as long, so that the more costly article is in the

end the more economical. There is at the present

time a marked tendency in the preparation of specifications to use performance as a basis rather than

design or chemical composition;^

Procedure in Canada.

The Canadian Engineering. Standards Association is a cooperative industrial body, not a department of the

Dominion Government as many believe, having been

incorporated in 1919. It has no authority to enforce

its standards on industry, and does not desire any such

authority. Any assumption of authority would destroy that cordial feeling which now exists between

the organization and its industrial friends, a relation

which the association uses effort to foster. Under its cooperative policy, the association is en- abled to enlist the services of industrial representatives in the solution of various industrial problems.

It is in a position to call friendly conferences at which

all parties interested may freely express their views.

As the association is not operated for any profit, and

is entirely nonpartisan, it is enabled without prejudice,

to freely circulate and encourage the adoption of the

reports or specifications which are published as a re- sult of these conferences.

Industrial standardization is closely allied to another

great industrial movement known as simplified practice or waste elimination. It is therefore quite consistent that a national standardizing body should in- clude this in its work. Briefly, simplified practice

consists in the elimination of unnecessary varieties in

any one manufactured article. Manufacturers find that they are making and trying to sell many varieties of some specific article which are subject to infrequent call and, being slow

moving, take up valuable storage space. A smaller

range would serve the buying public equally well, but

the larger range is bought mainly because it is in the

catalogue. If the manufacturer can effect an economy

by eliminating varieties, without prejudicing the in- terests of his customer, a great saving for both may be

the result. The manufacturer can thus manufacture

for stock with the assurance that his product will meet

the market, and in slack times is enabled to keep his

staff busy. The customer, on the other hand, is as- sured of quicker delivery on his orders and profits

from the lower prices resulting from the reduction in

overhead and storage charges which the manufacturer

has been able to make.

The association has made a start in this field and

hopes greatly to extend its operations. An established list of machine screws was issued in 1929 which

reduced the variety in this product from 43 to 21, but

which still provides a practical working list that will

adequately meet the needs of the designing engineer.

Work is now being done on similar lists covering cap

and set screws, machine, carriage, and plough bolts,

machine bolts and nuts, etc. The association has also sponsored a simplified list for square and round bars

for reinforcing concrete, reducing the variety from 18

to 11, in sizes ranging from *4 inch to l 1/^ inches.

This list has been approved by both manufacturing

and construction interests, and is now practically

standard in the construction field. In the electrical
MARCH, 1931 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY 285

field the specification for incandescent lamps includes

dimensions for standard screw sockets, the varieties of

which have been reduced from 179 to 6 by standardization. A specification for control cable for power

houses provides for the identification of 15 conductors

by the use of not more than two colors and a single

design in the braid. Previously as many as three different colors were used at one time and each manufacturer had his own range of braid designs.

Association’s functions.

These brief references show the possibilities which

are open for future endeavor in the fields of standardization and simplification, and indicate the important

role which can be filled by a national standardizing

bodjL The functions of such a body as exemplified by

the work of the Canadian Engineering Standards Association, may be briefly summarized as follows:

1. Promoting friendly relations between manufacturers and users.

2. Assisting manufacturers to effect economy in

manufacturing, and thus giving the user the advantage of lower prices.

3. Showing the user the value of standard specifications and the wisdom of buying to a smaller ranse in

variety.

4. Relieving the user of the necessity of preparing

his own specifications.

5. Solving industrial problems by conferences in

which all interests are represented.

6. Drafting of rules for the protection of life and

property.

7. Promoting uniformity in manufacturing practice

and quality of material throughout Canada.

It would be quite impossible within the compass of a

brief article to give a detailed account of the work

which is being carried on in Canada by the national

standardizing body. It is hoped, however, that suffi- cient information has been given to demonstrate the

fact that industrial standardization and simplification can be of financial benefit to those who understand and

apply intelligently the principles underlying these two

great movements. Canadian industries are, therefore,

consulting their best interests by cooperating with

their own national standardizing body and supporting

it in every way possible.

ACTIVITIES OF THE AMERICAN STANDARDS ASSOCIATION

News of the Month Shows Progress in Standardization

The following current information relating to developments in certain standardization projects under

the auspices and procedure of the American Standards

Association has been furnished by that association

:

Testing woven textile fabrics.—A standard for

“ methods of testing woven textile ” fabrics has just re- ceived the approval of the American Standards Association, following submittal under the proprietary

sponsorship method by the American Society for Test- ing Materials. The standard covers, to quote the

scope of the project, “ General methods of testing- woven textile fabrics, exclusive of materials requiring

special treatment (for which specific methods of test will be described applicable for that material and such

special methods shall take precedence over the general

methods), and exclusive of cord fabric used in manufacturing tires.” In a sense the new standard may be considered as a revision of the former American tentative standard,

“ methods of testing cotton fabrics,” which was dis- continued when it was found desirable to widen the

scope in order to include specifications for tolerances

for hose ducks and duck belts. The word “ toler- ance ” in this case must not be understood in the same

sense in which it is used in limiting gaging practice.

The definition of tolerance, according to standard No.

D23-027 of the American Society for Testing Materials, is given as the “limits within which a textile

must come in its specified characteristics in order that

it shall constitute a good delivery on contract. They

may be classified as the allowable limits of the quantitative characteristics of the fabric as defined in the

specifications.” In mechanical engineering practice

the term “ tolerance” represents the zone between the

limits within which a product may vary and still be

acceptable.

Dimensions of Woodruff keys.—American standard

dimensions for Woodruff keys, keyways, and cutters have been approved by the American Standards Association, following submittal by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, which is in charge of the

technical committee on this subject. The intensive

study given to this standard during its development

appears to assure its meeting the needs of industry.

The standard covers a series of 27 keys of various

thicknesses having radii of curvatures ranging from

one-fourth to three-fourths of an inch. This series

is said to cover 90 per cent of the requirements of the

entire consuming industry. A simplified method of

indicating Woodruff key sizes has been incorporated

in the standard. Instead of using an unrelated se- ries of numbers and letters or combinations of the

two, a system has been developed in which one series

of digits represents the nominal width of the keyslot

or cutter, rising by A-inch increments, and a second

series of digits representing the nominal diameter of

the keyslot or cutter rising by ^4-inch increments.

Two numbers, one from each series in the order stated

above, give the number assigned to the particular

standard key.

Code for lighting school buildings.—A revision of

the code for lighting school buildings will soon be

under way. The Illuminating Engineering Society

and the American Institute of Architects, sponsors

for the project, have advised the American Standards

Association of their decision to undertake the revision. The first step in the revision will be the appointment of representatives to form a special committee

which will prepare suggestions to be placed before

the sectional committee when it is fully organized.

The cooperating organizations which participated in the preparation of the original code have again been
286 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY MARCH, 1931

requested to appoint representatives on the sectional

committee.

Safety code for coal-pneumatic cleaning plants.

A safety code for coal-pneumatic cleaning plants has

been approved by American Standards Association

as an American standard. The standard includes

specifications for the construction of the building in

which pneumatic screening and cleaning equipment

and driers are located, the arrangement of the screen room and the rooms in which the pneumatic jigs or

tables are located. It also gives detailed specifications

for the ventilation of all parts of the building in which the process of coal-pneumatic cleaning is car- ried on and specifications for methods of dust collec- tion. Reference is made to the National Electrical Code

in connection with electrical installations for light,

heat, and power. The code states, in a discussion of

the types of systems, that “ pneumatic-coal cleaning

systems employ air pressure and evacuation and are subject to the hazards incident to the creation and

distribution of dust, explosive in air when ignited.

The two principal parts of the apparatus which

create the dust and which also may be the means,

unless properly designed and operated, of distributing

dust are : (a) Screens, shaking and/or vibrating

screens and revolving screens; (6) pneumatic jigs or

tables for separating the pure coal from the refuse.”

The new code was developed by the sectional committee on dust explosion hazards under the sponsorship of the United States Department of Agriculture,

and the National Fire Protection Association. It is

the sixth of the series of codes developed by this committee. The others being : Safety code for the instal- lation of pulverized fuel systems, safety code for pulverizing systems for sugar and cacao, safety code for

the prevention of dust explosions in starch factories,

safety code for the prevention of dust explosions in

flour and feed mills, and safety code for the prevention of dust explosions in terminal grain elevators. Standardization of foundry equipment.—A project

for the standardization of foundry equipment, to be

jointly sponsored by the American Foundrymen’s Association and the American Society of Mechanical

Engineers, will be undertaken by the American Standards Association. This decision was made recently by

the A. S. A. Standards Council on recommendation

of a special committee. Several months ago when the

request for the project was transmitted to the American Standards Association it was suggested by the

American Foundrymen’s Association that this project

might include the standardization of many types of

foundry equipment. Color markings of foundry patterns have already been standardized by the American

Foundrymen’s Association, and a report on this subject, published in 1926, has been widely used.

Two projects under American Standards Association procedure concerning foundry practice have been

under the leadership of the American Foundrymen’s

Association. These are the safety code for the protection of industrial workers in foundries, and the

standards for outside dimensions of plumbago crucibles for nontilting furnaces in nonferrous foundry

practice.

NEW AND REVISED PUBLICATIONS OF THE NATIONAL BUREAU OF

STANDARDS

American Standard Specifications for Dry Cells and Batteries. Specifications for dry cells, prepared by the National Bureau of Standards with the cooperation of manufacturers

and users, were first published as an appendix to the bureau’s circular No. 79, Electrical Characteristics and

Testing of Dry Cells. They were later promulgated by the Federal Specifications Board as its specification No. 58. The second edition was approved by the American Stand- ards Association as an American standard on February 27, 1928. Since that date a revision has been carried out con- currently by a technical committee of the Federal Specifi- cations Board and a sectional committee working under

the procedure of the A. S. A. This circular gives the

specifications in the form adopted by the sectional committee

and approved by the American Standards Association. (Circular of the Bureau of Standards No. 390. Price 5

cents.

)

Builders’ Hardware (Nontemplate). The printed pamphlet

entitled “Builders’ Hardware (Nontemplate)” Commercial

Standard, CS22-30, has been released and distributed to acceptors of record. The main object is to establish stand- ard nomenclature, definitions, and descriptions for regular

items of builders’ hardware, as well as standard finishes and finish symbols, which will be recognized and followed throughout the industry. (Price 10 cents.) Determination of Carbon in High Sulphur Steels by Direct

Combustion. Oxides of sulphur are formed in the direct- combustion method for carbon in steel, and cause positive errors if they are not removed. The absorbents commonly

used for this purpose, as well as promising new ones, have

been tested. A description is given of the absorption train that has been developed at the National Bureau of Stand- ards as well as one that has been developed by the Jones & Laughlin Steel Co. (Research Paper No. 240. Price 5 cents.)

Hospital Plumbing Fixtures. This is the published simplified

practice recommendation, adopted by a general conference May 22. 1929, covering types, sizes, and varieties of hospital

plumbing fixtures. It became effective for new production on January 2, 1930. A period of one year, January 2, 1931, was allowed manufacturers to clear the then existing stocks

of discontinued fixtures. (S. P. R. No. R106-30. Price 10

cents.) Importance of Particle Size in Samples of Certain Metallurgical Materials. The sampling of certain metallurgical materials gives rise to particles that differ in size and in composition. The extent of the differences is shown in this pamphlet, and the procedures that must be followed in selecting the sample for analysis are outlined. (Research

Paper No. 237. Price 5 cents.) Isolation of the Isomers of Hexane from Petroleum. This paper describes the isolation of four of the five isomers of hexane from an Oklahoma crude petroleum. The fifth isomer, 2-2-dimethylbutane, was not found. It was found

that ordinary fractional distillation concentrated the hexanes

in a set of constant-boiling mixtures, the other constituents

of which were ring compounds. These constant-boiling mixtures were broken up by distillation after the addition of an alcohol which was later removed from the distillates by

washing with water. In this way, aided by equilibrium

melting, the following four hexanes were obtained and

identified : 2, 3-dimetbylbutane, 2-methylpentane, 3-methylpentane, and w-hexane. The following constants were deter- mined for each hexane : Boiling point, freezing point, specific

gravity, and refractive index. The freezing points found for two of the hexanes appear to be the only ones on record. They are, for the air-saturated hydrocarbon, —143±0.5° C. for 2-methylpentane and —118±0.5° C. for 3-methylpentane.

The eutectic for the system C02-2-methylpentane is —153 ±0.5° C. (Research Paper No. 239. Price 10 cents.)
MARCH, 1931 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY 287

Measurement of Sound Absorption. This paper contains a

brief discussion of the theory of reverberation measurements. The reverberation room is described, and details are given

as to the method of measuring sound absorption by means of the ear. Methods are also described by which sound absorption can be determined from oscillograph records or by the use of an attenuator box and vacuum tube voltmeter. (Re- search Paper No. 242. Price 10 cents.) Measurement of Surface Temperature. After a brief discus- sion of some of the methods which have been used for measuring surface temperatures, the paper describes a sur- face thermometer of the thermocouple type which was suc- cessfully used for measuring the temperatures of steel rails during the periods of heating before and after welding. A

compensated type of thermocouple, for more precise measure- ments at temperatures below 400° F., is also described, and

results obtained in measuring the temperature of a drying

roll are given.

Photo-Ionization of Caesium Vapor by Absorption Between the

Series Lines. Measurements by the space-charge method

have been made on photo-ionization resulting from a small continuous absorption between the series lines. Results are expressed in terms of relative sensitivity I (\)/I (3,200). At 0.064 mm pressure I (\)/I (3,200) increases from 0.0003

at 3,750 A to 0.07 at 3,250 A. I (\)/I (3,200) increases roughly as the square root of the pressure throughout this wave-length range. On the short wave length side of 3,500

A the effect decreases with increasing temperature of the

vapor, the effect being reduced to half for a 70° rise in temperature. On the red side of 3,500 A there is little, if any, temperature change. Results other than the temperature effect can be explained on the hypothesis that the ab- sorption between lines is purely atomic as there is some line absorption far from the line center. However, the temperature variation indicates a molecular origin and leads to an

estimate of 0.26 electron volts for the work of dissociation of Cs2 . Other results can be qualitatively explained on the same hypothesis. (Research Paper No. 234. Price 10 cents.

)

Strength of Welded Shelf-Angle Connections. Shelf angles for transferring loads from floor beams to columns in steel- frame buildings were arc welded to H-section steel columns. The angles on the different specimens varied in width, thickness, and length. In some of the specimens the vertical leg of the shelf angle was placed against the web or flange of the column and was fastened to the column with fillet welds

of the edges of contact. These types of specimens were

(a) Single weld at heel of angle, (&) welds at heel and toe of angle, (c) welds at ends of angle, (d) welds at heel and

ends of angle, and ( e

)

welds at heel, toe, and ends of angle.

However, in the specimens of type F the angle was made of such a length that it filled snugly between the flanges of

the column and was fastened to the column with fillet welds

at both ends of the angle. The inner face of the vertical leg of the angle was placed 2 inches from the center line of the column web. The specimens were tested to destruction in the 10,000,000- pound testing machine of the National Bureau of Standards. They were placed in the machine in an inverted position so that the outstanding legs of the angles rested on 6 by 6 inch

steel bearing blocks placed on the lower platen of the machine. In testing all of the specimens, except type F, the

inside faces of the bearing blocks were placed one-half inch from the face of the column to simulate end clearance in the

floor beam. For type F the bearing blocks were placed under

the entire width of the horizontal legs of the angles.

Increasing the width of the vertical leg of the angle in- creased the maximum stress for specimens welded only at the

ends, type C. There were no definite indications that the width of the vertical leg of the angles affected the strength

of the other types of specimens. Neither the thickness nor

the length of the angles appeared to have much effect on the

unit strength of the specimens.

Self-angle connections in designing which the stresses are those recommended by the Code for Fusion Welding

and Gas Cutting in Building Construction, prepared by the American Welding Society, will have a factor of safety of about 4, provided the welds are reinforced as much as the welds on these specimens. (Research Paper No. 230, price 10 cents.) Supplementary List of Publications of the Bureau of Standards. This supplementary list is issued to supplement the information given in Bureau of Standards Circular No. 24. The period covered is from July 1, 1925, to February 28, 1930. (Free distribution.)

Surface Tension of Soap Solutions and Its Relation to the Thickness of Absorbed Films. A sharp minimum in the

surface tension-time curves of certain soap solutions has

been interpreted in the literature as indicating the gradual

formation of a surface film possessing the properties of a

plastic solid, and having a thickness equivalent to some

10,000 molecular lengths. In this paper the hypothesis is advanced that the formation of the thick film is brought

about by chemical action between carbon dioxide from the

air and dissolved soap. Surface tension experiments per- formed in the open air have confirmed the existence of the minimum point observed by previous investigators. However, when solutions prepared in exactly the same manner

were tested by the same method in an atmosphere free from carbon dioxide no minimum point was found. The

solutions behaved instead in the manner which is characteristic of colloidal solutions in general. These results sup- port the hypothesis advanced above and leave the pre- ponderance of evidence against the existence of a film of extraordinary thickness at the surface of soap solutions. (Research Paper No. 241, price 5 cents.) Send orders for publications listed above with re- mittance only to the Superintendent of Documents,

Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C. Subscription to bureau's Technical News Bulletin, 25

cents per year (United States, and its possessions,

Canada, Cuba, Mexico, Newfoundland, and Republic

of Panama) ; other countries, 40 cents. Subscription

to bureau’s Journal of Research, $2.75 per year; other

countries, $3.50. Subscription to Commercial Standards Monthly, $1 per year; other countries, $1.25.

SIMPLIFICATION BRIEFS

Capacity ratings for boilers. —-A survey recently

made on capacity ratings for low-pressure steel heating boilers discloses the need for a simplified schedule

of such ratings. Following a study of the survey

report the Steel Heating Boiler Institute requested

the National Bureau of Standards to present the

proposal to industry for consideration.

Ice cream cups and cup caps.—A summary report

of the simplified schedule for ice cream cups and cup

caps, recently approved by a general conference of the

industry, has been mailed to members of the industry

by the National Bureau of Standards for written acceptance. Contingent upon acceptance in writing, the

recommendation will become effective on January 1, 1932.

Ice cream brick molds and cartons.-—Simplified

practice recommendation R120-31 covering ice cream

brick molds and cartons has just been announced by

the National Bureau of Standards. This announce- ment was prompted by the receipt of signed acceptances from a sufficient number of manufacturers, dis- tributors, users, and others interested, to insure the

general adoption of the program by the entire

industry.
288 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY MARCH, 1931

Identification of simplified sizes. —Efforts of the

National Bureau of Standards, through its division of

simplified practice, to have all simplified sizes identified in catalogue price lists, etc., so that the purchaser can readily select them, received the unanimous

approval of the executive committee of the National

Association of Purchasing Agents, at its annual meeting held in New York, February 16 and 17, 1931.

Full disk buffing wheels. —The printed pamphlet on

the simplified schedule covering full disk buffing

wheels (Simplified Practice Recommendation No.

R115-30) is now available for purchase from the

Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing

Office, Washington, D. C., for 5 cents per copy. This

is the recommendation recently adopted by industry

defining the ply and outside diameter of full disk

wheels.

Fast selvage Terry towels. —The simplification for

fast selvage Terry towels (Simplified Practice Recommendation No. R119-31) may be considered effective

from March 1, 1931, according to an announcement by

the National Bureau of Standards. Sufficient signed

acceptances have been received by the bureau from

the industry to insure the general adoption of the

recommendation. This recommendation reduced the

number of sizes of fast selvage Terry towels from 7T

to 6, an elimination of 91 per cent.

Cupola lining blocks. —The joint committee on

foundry refractories, sponsored by the American

Ceramic Society and the American Foundrymen’s

Association, has requested the cooperative services of

the National Bureau of Standards in the consideration of a simplified practice recommendation whicli

will cover the sizes and shapes of cupola blocks, tap- out blocks, and slag hole blocks. The proposal is now

in the course of preparation. A survey is being

made among refractory manufacturers to ascertain

the existing variety in these types of blocks. The compilation of the returns received from manufacturers

in the the survey will be turned over to the joint committee who will use this information as a basis for the

drafting of a tentative simplified practice recommendation.

FEDERAL SPECIFICATIONS

Status of 65 Projects Announced

The Federal Specifications Board promulgated

14 specifications during the past month. In addition,

48 specifications were under consideration for revision,

and 3 proposed specifications were submitted for criti- cism and comment.

The promulgations and revisions contain the new

identification and classification symbols and title designations in accordance with the system used in the

Federal Standard Stock Catalogue. Copies of the

specifications (other than those promulgated) and further information relating thereto can be obtained from

the Federal Specifications Board, National Bureau

of Standards, Washington, D. C. Copies of the promulgated specifications desired by

those in the commercial world and others outside of

the Federal Government may be purchased from the

Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing

Office, Washington, D. C., at 5 cents each.

PROMULGATED

New designation Specifications F. S. No.

C-H-lll - . H-B-151 Brushes, casting _ _ __ _ _ __ _______ 192 II-B-171 Brushes, cuspidor __ _ __ 194 II-B-18] _ . . 195a H-B-211 525a II-B-216 H-B-251 Brushes, flowing, badger-hair _ ___ ___ 512a II-B-256 Brushes, flowing, skunk-hair__ _ __ _ 514a H-B-261 Brushes, flowing, squirrel-tail hair 513a H-B-626 Brushes, stencil (flag ends preserved) _ 520a H-B-636. 523 H-B-701 Brushes, varnish, flat (double X thickness) _ __ 522a H-B-706 Brushes, varnish, flat (triple X thickness) ___ 521 HHH-P-611 Potatoes, Irish _ _ __ 271

REVISIONS

Z-A-611 Apples, canned.. ._ _ _ _ •__ ___ __ 604a Z-A-621 621a Z-A-631 Apricots, canned _ __ _____ ________ 605a Z-C-301 Cherries, canned _ _ __ ______ _ 606a Z-P-191 Peaches, canned

Z-P-671 610a Z-P-201 Pears, canned. .^7777 608a

REVISIONS—Continued

New designation Specifications F. S. No.

HH-G-71

HH-G-76.

HH-P-41.

Gaskets, asbestos, copper corrugated

Gaskets, asbestos, metallic cloth Packing, asbestos, rope and wick

9397b

487 HH-P-3L.

HH-P-61-.

HH-P-91..

HH-P-106.

HH-P-151.

Packing, asbestos, metallic cloth, sheet. Packing, diaphragm

Packing, fiber, hard, sheet Packing, flax Packing, rubber, cloth insertion

94b

98a

486

101c 110a HH-P-171

HH-P-181.

PP-C-251

.

PP-F-611. QQ-L-171.

Packing, spiral, gland, low pressure Packing, tucks Chickens, dressed (broilers, fryers, and roasters) Fowl, dressed (fricassee) Lead, pig104a 113a

267 267

117 QQ-S-751. TT-C-291.

TT-E-531.

TT-O-111.

TT-P-31..

Steel, structural (including steel for cold flanging) and

steel, rivet, for ships other than naval vessels. Chrome yellow, dry, paste in Japan, paste in oil (lemon, medium, orange). Enamel, water resisting, red .. Ocher, dry, paste in oil, and paste in Japan .. Paints, iron hydroxide and iron oxide (ready mixed;

semipaste).

469

476

66

1213b

TT-P-46-.

TT-P-41--

TT-P-61-. TT-P-81 .

.

TT-P-101. TT- P-791. TT-R-191. TT-Z-301

.

TT-V-5L.

TT-V-91..

Paint, lithopone, interior, gloss, light tints and white

Paints, lithopone, interior, flat and eggshell finish, ready mixed and semipaste, light tints and white.

Paint, ready-mixed and semipaste, black

Paint, ready-mixed, and semipaste, olive-drab

Paints, titanium-zinc, outside, ready-mixed and semipaste, white. Putty ^ - Red lead, dry, and paste Zinc oxide, dry, and paste Varnish, asphalt Varnish, shellac

6721b

14b

10b

278

283

118

19376 WW-P-441. ZZ-I-121 UU-B-591-.

UU-P-226-. DDD-B-51

Pipe, wrought-iron, welded, black and galvanized.

Ice-bags, rubber

Board, illustrating Paper, detail-drawing Bandages, gauze, compressed

242a

217

590

594

298 DDD-T-531

DDD-B-171 DDD-T-551

JJJ-A-711

Towels, huck, office (with woven name)

Belting, conveyor (stitched duck)

Towels, turkish Asparagus, canned

422a

466

624a

JJJ-B-181. JJJ-O-331 JJJ-O-336Beets, canned

Oil, linseed, boiled.

Oil, linseed, raw__

Raisins

626a 475b 4b

634a

PROPOSALS

Plain and thread plug and ring gages (and Miscellaneous

Publication National Bureau of Standards No. 100, of same title).
MARCH, 1931 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY 289

THE INTERNATIONAL ILLUMINATION CONGRESS OF 1931

Great Britain Plans Unique Series of Meetings on Lighting

The regular triennial session of the International

Commission on Illumination scheduled to be held in

Great Britain in September, 1931, is to be made the

occasion of an unparalleled gathering of lighting ex- perts and engineers from all the world, according to plans announced by the British National Committee

on Illumination. The formal sessions of the commission are to be at the University of Cambridge, but

preceding them there will be held a peripatetic Inter- national Congress which will include a large part of

England and Scotland in its itinerary. This will give

visitors an opportunity to observe the development of

lighting and electric service in Great Britain, and at the same time will bring to British industrial and

commercial centers messages from some of the world’s

outstanding authorities on lighting.

Registration for the International Congress will

take place in London on the first three days of September, during which time a reception will be held

and visits made to places of technical interest. The

first session will be held September 4 in Glasgow.

Meetings and visits to points of interest will follow

in Edinburgh on September 6, 7, and 8 ; Sheffield, September 9 and 10; Birmingham, September 11 and 12;

while on September 13 a tour will be made from Birmingham to Cambridge. The various technical meetings and plenary session of the International Commission on Illumination will be held at Trinity

College, Cambridge, September 14 to 19, inclusive.

The dates have been chosen to enable the delegates

to attend the 3-day celebration in London of the

Faraday Centennial, immediately following the commission sessions. The centennial includes a meeting

of the Institution of Electrical Engineers and will

be followed in turn by the annual meeting of the

British Association for the Advancement of Science.

Subjects for the congress.

The following general topics have been designated

for discussion at the congress sessions on lighting

practice: Factory lighting, office lighting, home lighting, lighting for aviation, lighthouses and buoys,

street lighting, traffic signals and motor vehicle lighting, floodlighting, architectural lighting, natural

lighting, mine lighting, museum lighting, laboratory

technique, and lighting-service bureaus. The national committees which constitute the commission

have been asked to obtain papers of international in- terest on these subjects.

The United States National Committee of the International Commission has been charged with the

responsibility for management and direction of four

important divisions of the commission’s activities. These are : Motor vehicle lighting, factory and school

lighting, aviation lighting, and applied lighting practice in fields not otherwise specifically assigned. The

need for agreement on some essential features of aviation lighting has already resulted in preliminary

meetings abroad under the auspices of the International Commission, and the forthcoming meetings will

undoubtedly bring together important specialists in

this newer field of lighting. Special attention will

also be given to methods which have been found useful in showing the public how to use light effectively.

Members of engineering societies and others interested in the science and art of illumination are eligible

to attend the International Congress. Those interested may obtain full information by application to the assistant secretary of the Illuminating Engineering Society, 29 West Thirty-ninth Street, New York,

N. Y.

History of the international commission.

The International Commission on Illumination in

its present form dates from 1913, but is a continuation of the International Photometric Commission

created by an International Congress of the Gas In- dustry held in Paris in 1900. The Photometric Commission was set up to standardize the methods used

in measuring the light from incandescent gas mantles.

It held three sessions at Zurich in 1903, 1907, and 1911,

and made notable progress on the technical problems

of photometry. In particular, it stimulated comparisons of the standards of candlepower used in differ- ent countries and thus helped in bringing about agreement on a single unit of light to be used in Great

Britain, France, and the United States, beginning

in 1909. This unit is still used under the name “ In- ternational Candle.”

The meeting of 1913 at Berlin, at which the organization was changed to the present form, made the

scope of the commission broader in two ways. In the

first place it took in electrical organizations in addition to the gas associations, and in the second place it turned the activities of the commission toward the

study and promotion of the use of light rather than

merely its production and measurement. The fulfill- ment of these plans was naturally delayed by the war,

but the work of the commission was revived at a meeting in Paris in 1921, and has been successively en- larged at other sessions held in Geneva, 1924, Bellagio,

Italy, 1927, and in the United States in 1928.

The plan of having a general Congress on Illumination to supplement the more technical sessions of the

commission was inaugurated in 1928. Delegates from

10 countries were taken on a tour of inspection, in- cluding all the larger cities from Boston to Chicago

and then attended the convention of the Illuminating

Engineering Society at Toronto. Sessions of the commission itself were held at Saranac Inn, N. Y.

While exchange of information regarding the sci- ence and art of illumination is now emphasized as the

primary object of the commission, some very important standardization projects are still before it. For

example, at the 1931 Cambridge session it will consider the status of photometric standards and methods

and the establishment of international standards for

lamp bases and sockets. On the former project this

commission is collaborating with the International

Committee of Weights and Measures and several national standardizing laboratories in the hope of re- moving very serious discrepancies which now exist

in the rating of lamps in different countries, and also

of securing the use of a single unit of candlepower
290 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY MARCH, 1931

throughout the world. Oil the question of bases and

sockets, it is acting jointly with the International

Electrotechnical Commission. Two general types of

bases (bayonet and Edison screw) are used and will

continue in use, but it is hoped to obtain uniformity in

the essential dimensions of each type.

The countries represented by national committees

in the International Commission are Austria, Belgium,

Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Holland, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Sweden, Switzerland,

and the United States of America. Poland has also

applied for admission to the commission. The United

States National Committee is made up of representatives from the Illuminating Engineering Society, the

American Institute of Electrical Engineers, the National Electric Light Association, the American

Physical Society, the Optical Society of America, and

the National Bureau of Standards.

A. S. T. M. REPORTS PROGRESS IN STANDARDIZATION

1930 an Active Year for Society—Work of Its Committees Reviewed

A review of the American Society for Testing Materials’ activities during 1930 presents a general perspective of the society’s accomplishments, and serves

as an incentive for equal or greater accomplishments

in the future, to quote a recent announcement of the

society. It was further stated by the American Society for Testing Materials’ announcement that the

two purposes for which the society was organized were : Research and standardization—research in, and

the promotion of, knowledge of engineering materials,

and the standardization of materials, specifications,

and methods of testing.

The 1930 edition of the Book of American Society

for Testing Materials Standards was issued in two

parts: Part I on Metals, containing 179 standards,

methods of test, definitions, and recommended practices relating to metallic materials; and Part II on

Nonmetallic Materials, containing 251 standards,

methods of test, etc., relating to nonmetallic materials and products. Included in these publications were not only the 45 tentative standards that had

been advanced to standard during the year, but

also 55 standards that had been revised in order that

the specifications and methods of test appearing in the

Book of American Society for Testing Materials

Standards would represent the latest thoughts on these

subjects.

The Book of American Society for Testing Materials Tentative Standards, an annual publication of

the society, contains 155 specifications, methods of

test, etc., relating to both metals and nonmetallic materials, was also released during the year. As a result of its intensive standardization work,

the American Society for Testing Materials now has

582 standards and tentative standards. Ten years

ago it had 224. The outstanding phase of the society’s standardization activities in 1930 was the establishment of the

committee on standards. This committee was organized to promote and to consider general matters of

policy regarding the society’s standardization activities; to review annually the prograss made in standardization, as well as to pass upon proposed new

tentative standards offered for consideration between

the annual meetings. Under this new procedure, the

committee approved the publication of new tentative

specifications for high-early-strength Portland ce- ment and three methods of testing natural building

stone, as well as the revision of seven tentative standards and methods of testing.

Changes have been made in the standard P. C. E.

test by the society to includeAesting of raw fire clay

and silica cement. Heretofore the test has been limited to the testing of fire-clay brick. Detailed changes

have also been approved in the sampling of the test materials and the manner of preparing the test cones

to make the test applicable to raw fire clay and silica cement. The reports of activities for the following

two committees may be taken as indicative of the

American Society for Testing Materials’ work.

The American Society for Testing Materials’ committee on refractories last year approved the recom- mendations of the section on heat transmission regarding a standard nomenclature which is the same as that

of the National Research Council. This section now is studying methods of measuring heat transmission with

the idea in mind of eventually making recommendations for a standard method.

Additional sections are being prepared for the

American Society for Testing Materials’ manual for

interpretation of refractory test data, in an attempt

to put refractories tests and methods of reporting

data on a sound statistical basis. These are to cover

quality control and a discussion of what constitutes

good data, in accordance with the original plan of

revising and adding to the manual from time to time

to keep pace with advances in theory, and to make the

manual generally useful. A cone-temperature conversion table has been approved which now enables users of the test to express

their results in terms of either standard pyrometric

cones, or temperatures.

The committee on refractories, continuing its policy

of establishing a complete series of standard analytical

samples for all types of refractory materials, now has

in progress with the National Bureau of Standards,

the preparation of standard samples of chrome, magnesite, and silica materials of the usual commercial

grade. Twelve industrial and private laboratories are cooperating on the project. This will make available a total of nine samples covering the various degrees

of highly aluminous materials and plastic and flint

fire clays, as well as the three other materials first mentioned.

Several years ago the same committee abandoned

its test for the resistance to slagging of refractories,

because of the unsatisfactory data which was fre- quently developed and pointed out at the time the

necessity for some fundamental studies of the reaction

between various slags and refractories before a new

test could be recommended. Eight members of the

American Society for Testing Materials’ committee on refractories are also members of the American

Society of Mechanical Engineers’ special boiler fur-
MARCH, 1931 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY 291

nace refractories, which for several years has had

under way a very thoroughgoing study, both in the

field and in the laboratory, of the action of coal-ash

slags of various fire-clay brick. The work has progressed to the point where it is believed that within the near future the American Society of Mechanical

Engineers’ committee can recommend a standard test procedure, for at least the field of coal-ash slags and

fire-clay refractories, to the American Society for

Testing Materials’ committee.

Six tentative specifications, relating to galvanized

wire and wire products, have been advanced to standard, following a favorable vote by the membership of

the society. Standard Methods of Determining

Weight of Coating on Zinc-coated Articles has been

revised to include an improved method for determining the weight of coating on zinc coated wire. Following are the specifications, published as tentative in

1927 and 1928, for galvanized wire and wire products,

which have been adopted as standard

:

Zinc-coated (galvanized) iron or steel telephone and telegraph

line wire (Alll-30).

Zinc-coated (galvanized) iron or steel tie wire (A112-30).

Zinc-coated (galvanized farm-field and railroad right-of-way

wire fencing (A116-30).

Zinc-coated chain-link fence fabric galvanized after weaving

(A117-30).

Zinc-coated (galvanized) barb wire (A121-30).

Zinc-coated (galvanized) steel wire strand (A122-30).

In the above specifications the Preece test is recom- mended for determining only the uniformity of the

zinc coating, while stripping tests are provided for

weight of coating determinations. In the specifications for line wire, and tie wire, wrap tests have been

provided which may be specified by the purchaser as a check on the flexibility and adherence of the zinc

coatings. The specifications cover materials regularly obtainable in the open market, and have been

prepared by the society for the mutual benefit of purchaser and seller. Chain-link fence fabric, widely used for the manufacture of chain-link fence, is resilient and develops

high strength under impact and stretching. Prior

to 1925 most chain-link fabric was formed from galvanized wire, but about that time several of the larger

fence companies more or less simultaneously undertook development work to improve the weather re- sistance of this type of fence. The outcome of this

development work was the introduction of galvanized

afterwearing chain-link fence fabric. This new type

fabric carries considerably heavier zinc coatings than

did the older type.

The specification for zinc-coated steel wire strand

contains one or two important revisions, probably

the most important of which specifies maximum and

minimum diameters of the individual wires of the

strand, instead of permissible variations from the

diameter of the completed strand. A requirement was

added pertaining to the lay of the strand which specifies a length of lay not to exceed 16 times the nominal

diameter of the strand in inches.

The new method for determining the weight of coat- ing on zinc-coated wires may be more conveniently

and economically performed and with considerably

greater accuracy than was possible with the former

method, which involved reference to a table, and re- quired the selection of very short lengths of wire for

the more important gages. The new method specifies

that the sample of wire may be any length over 12

inches, but preferably about 24 inches. This method

does not require the use of samples of known length,

since, using 0.283 pound per cubic inch as the density

of steel, it is only required to determine the diameter

of the stripped wire and the ratio of the weight of the

coating to the weight of the stripped wire.

STANDARDIZATION BRIEFS

Paper purchased by standard specifications.—The

Government Printing Office has successfully purchased

all of its paper on standard specifications for many

years. During the last fiscal year 52,000,000 pounds

of paper were received.

Color fastness tested.—Experiments are in progress

at the National Bureau of Standards to determine

how long the color of wall-paper designs will retain

its brilliancy. An apparatus was designed to measure, in 24-hour tests, how much the design will fade in

two years.

Indorsement of labeling by consumer group.—The

certification and labeling plans advocated by the

National Bureau of Standards received the unanimous

approval and indorsement of the executive committee

of the National Association of Purchasing Agents, at

its meeting held in New York, February 16 and 17,

1931.

Automatic “ smoker ” for testing cigars.—An apparatus, which automatically “ smokes ” cigars has been

devised by the United States Department of Agriculture for use in testing the burning quality, the

nicotine, ammonia and acid content, and other properties of tobacco, as found in ash and smoke.

Constant and uniform temperatures.—In order to extend the range of temperatures that can be maintained constant and uniform, a cryostat is being developed at the National Bureau of Standards, in

which liquid air or liquid hydrogen can be made to

boil at reduced pressures.

Standards for meat-packing industmj.—A “ Standard Beef Grading System and Packers’ Guide,” which

has been developed after careful research and study

by a special committee, has just been issued by the

Institute of American Meat Packers, 506 South

Wabash Avenue, Chicago, 111.

Proposed specifications for motor fuels.—Study of

the proposed specifications for motor fuels of the Federal Specifications Board as they affect State Gasoline

standards will be made in the early future by a committee representing the board of directors of the

American Petroleum Institute.
292 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY MARCH, 1931

Wire-screen maniafacturers organize.—To promote

standardization of wire-screen cloth, a majority of the

manufacturers of this product have formed the Wire

Screen Cloth Manufacturers’ Institute, designating

George E. Watson as secretary, with offices at 74

Trinity Place, New York, N. Y.

British coal sampling.—For years the subject of

sampling and analysis of coal for export has been an important one in England. To meet the problem the

British Engineering Standards Association has promulgated a specification (B. E. S. A. No. 404—1930)

dealing with sampling and analysis of coal for export.

Mortgage company insists on lumber grade-mark.

The Mortgage Guaranty Co., of Los Angeles, Calif.,

has announced that all houses which it is to assist in

financing must have the following lumber specification

paragraph : “All rough lumber shall be No. 1, common

Douglas fir (Oregon pine). Each piece shall bear the

official grade-mark of the West Coast Lumbermen’s

Association.”

Definitions of magnetic units.—International agree- ment on the definitions and names of additional magnetic units was reached by the International Electrotechnical Commission at its meeting in Oslo (Sweden),

July, 1930. This constitutes a further important ad- vance in the standardization of electromagnetic units

brought about through the efforts of this commission.

Printing industry conference.—The second confer- ence of the technical experts in the printing industry

will be held on March 16 and 17, 1931, in the new

Harding Hall of the Government Printing Office in

Washington, D. C. There will be five group confer- ences covering: (1) air conditioning, (2) paper standards, (3) color, (4) plates, and (5) cylinder diameters.

Various papers of interest to the industry will be pre- sented at the conference.

Association trade-mark.—A trade-mark consisting

of the letters “ CW & SPA,” have been adopted

by the California White and Sugar Pine Association.

This action on the part of the association was taken

after a representative of the National Lumber Manufacturers Association had pointed out that bids for

lumber on the Boulder Dam project were being called

for in three classifications, namely, (1) grade, trade

and tree marked, (2) association inspected and certified, and (3) Government inspected.

Radio and sound system to aid ships through fog.

The United States Lighthouse Service has installed a system which enables a vessel running through fog to determine its distance as well as direction from a sta- tion sending out fog signals. The system, of which

the radiocompass is a part, requires that the station

send out simultaneously both a radio and a sound signal ; the difference in the transmission speed of these

two signals provides a basis for calculating the

distance.

Octane mwibers.—The automotive power plant sec- tion of the National Bureau of Standards has used

octane numbers exclusively to^express the knock rat- ings of gasolines since August, 1930, and has begun

making routine fee tests to determine the approximate

octane numbers of gasolines submitted for rating.

Approximate octane numbers only will be reported

until the test apparatus and method of testing have

been standardized. The bureau will also test the purity of the iso-octane and normal heptane sold for use

as primary detonation standards.

Binder’s board.—At the request of the Binders

Board Manufacturers Association, tests of binder’s

board are being made at the National Bureau of Standards to assist the association in the establishment of

commercial standards for it. The boards produced

by the different manufacturers are being tested for

weight, thickness, flexural strength, bursting strength,

tensile strength, and moisture content. The testing

details were arranged in a conference with representatives of the association held at the National

Bureau of Standards on January 24, 1931.

Chronograph.—The United States Naval Observatory is equipped with a chronograph which is used to compute the infinitesimal errors which may occur between transmission of time signals from the Naval

Observatory and their emission by the Naval Radio

Station at Arlington. The chronograph, records both

the ticks of the master clock which controls the trans- mission of signals and the sending out of the signal

from the radio station. The record sheet shows any

deviation from accuracy to one-thousandth part of a

second.

States w'ged to mark highways.—Cooperation of

State highway commissions throughout the United

States in marking highways with suitable characters

that can be read by pilots of aircraft flying cross- country is being invited by Clarence M. Young, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Aeronautics. In a

letter mailed to each of the 48 commissions, Mr. Young

pointed out that highways afford one of the best landmarks for those who fly, and hence, when properly

marked to facilitate their identification from the air,

constitute a very helpful aid to air navigation.

Gasoline knock-rating.—The following S. A. E. recommended practice, adopted by the Society of

Automotive Engineers at Detroit on January 19, 1931,

substitutes a single rating scale for the diversity of

reference standards hitherto employed by different

laboratories in rating the detonation characteristics

of gasolines : Gasoline knock-testing results shall be

referred back to heptane-octane by using a scale of

octane numbers; the octane numbers to be the per- centages of iso-octane (2, 2, 4 trimethyl pentane) by

volume in a mixture of iso-octane and normal heptane

required to match the antiknock value of any given

fuel.

International acceptance of nomenclature.—An at- tempt to secure international uniformity in the compilation of industrial statistics has been made by the

International Chamber of Commerce, Paris, France.

As a matter of practical procedure each specific branch

of industry has been studied separately. Attention

has centered on ways and means of securing uniformity as to time, and definition of basic factors; the

adoption of identical weights and measures, and the
MARCH, 1931 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY 293

coordination of existing information in various lines

such as coal, shipbuilding, cotton, chemical fertilizers,

wool, iron ores, wood pulp, semiraw metallurgical

products and silk.

England to have huildmg code.—Consideration is now being given in Great Britain to the preparation

of a national building code, and a special investigation

of structural steel has been undertaken by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. Funds

have been supplied by the British Steelwork Association and the work will be done in consultation with

the Institution of Civil Engineers. It is reported

that special consideration will be given to the standard specification for steel structures for buildings promulgated by the Canadian Engineering Standards

Association.

Improved cost-accounting methods.—Under the

title, “ Costs-Markets-Profits : A Challenge to Industry,” the Department of Manufacture, U. S. Chamber

of Commerce, Washington, D. C., has released the

first of a series of bulletins designed to promote better

cost-accounting methods in industry, and especially to stimulate renewed interest in uniform cost methods on the part of trade associations. Since the current

business situation has brought home forcibly the need

for accurate and adequate methods of cost determination in all lines of industry, trade associations have

been placed in a strategic position which enables them

to give uniform cost accounting a prominent place on

their program of activities.

Standard anaesthetic ether.—There has been a progressive improvement in the quality of anaesthetic

ether market in this country in recent years, according to the Food and Drug Administration, United

States Department of Agriculture. The chief diffi- culty encountered with anaesthetic ether is its tendency to develop aldehydes and peroxides. Pure anaesthetic ether, as defined by the United States Pharmacopoeia, the standard for drugs under the food and

drugs act, contains no peroxides and aldehydes. Any

ether entering into interstate commerce and failing to meet the legal standards as to quality and purity is subject to seizure under the Federal food and drugs

act.

Load line safety regulation.—The Bureau of Navigation of the Department of Commerce has issued

detailed instructions to collectors of customs as to the manner of determining the draft of vessels when

leaving their ports as applied to the load-line markings based on the salinity of the water, distance from

the sea, and the zones of the ports from which the

vessels depart. It is expected ultimately to have on

record in the Bureau of Navigation a report of the

draft of each vessel on each departure from a port in

the United States on a foreign voyage. From these

drafts it is possible to determine whether the vessel was loaded deeper than her load line permitted.

Indorsement of grade marking hy retail association.—The thirty-seventh annual convention of the

Northeastern Retail Lumbermen’s Association, New

York, N. Y., January 29, 1931, adopted a resolution

indorsing the organized manufacturers’ efforts to assist the retailer by grade marking, car certificates,

and local inspection service, and urging the manufacturers’ associations “ to assist in this movement b}^ an

intensive publicity campaign with the architects,

loaning institutions, and contractors, to acquaint them

with the advantages of these facilities, as guarantees

of honest grade and tally, inasmuch as one of the

greatest contributing factors to the alarming decrease

in the consumption of lumber, is the growing lack

of confidence in the industry, resulting from fraudulent substitution of grades.”

Standardization in mining industry.—The “ run-ofmine ” day at a coal operation witnesses the use of

hundreds of standards that are not thought of as such.

Several important standards cover bolts, cement, concrete reinforcing, spiral steel rods, fire hose and fire- hose couplings, machine tools, motor ratings, pipe

flanges and fittings, pipe threads, rails, rivets, screw

threads for bolts, machine screws, nuts and commercial tap holes, shafting, and wire. Seldom, if ever, are these recognized as representing the conscious

efforts of some organization or group of organizations

to standardize. Wasteful variety in design and construction of mining equipment is inexcusable and

expensive.

Highviay code for British, motorists.—A highway

code for the guidance of motorists, pedestrians, bi- cyclists, and drivers of animal-drawn vehicles is provided by the road traffic act now awaiting approval

by Parliament, according to advices from Alfred Nutting, of the American Consulate Office in London,

made public by the Department of Commerce. Pedestrians are requested to use footpaths where they

are provided, to learn the signals used by motorists,

and to give signals when they intend to cross the road.

On wide highways pedestrians are advised to signal

the driver as to which side they expect him to pass. Recommendations for motorists as to speed, priority

of traffic, right of way at crossroads, cutting in, and

reversing are also pointed out in the code according

to the report.

Optical instrument.—A new type of optical instrument—the optical coincidence gage—which has been

constructed at the National Bureau of Standards will

enable one to make measurements in a direction per- pendicular to the surface viewed. This instrument

is similar to a military range finder except that the

two telescopes forming the optical system of the range

finder are replaced by two microscopes. The measure- ment may be made entirely without mechanical contact, and' this offers four advantages: (1) Deformation of the test object because of stresses introduced by

the gage may be entirety eliminated; (2) by the addition of a periscopic system, measurements can be

made to points inaccessible to measurement by mechanical methods; (3) in many cases measurements

can be made to moving parts; and (4) measurements

can be made of dimensions which terminate at an

optical image. The magnification of this instrument

is approximately 85, and under favorable conditions,

the probable error of a single reading is approximately

four one-hundred thousandths of an inch. A second

optical coincidence gage has been built for the purpose

of adjusting the sound-reproducing mechanism of a motion-picture projector.
294 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY MARCH, 1931 AMERICAN AND FOREIGN STANDARDIZATION ON A NATIONAL BASIS

Purposes and Scope of National Bodies in 21 Countries Reviewed

By Samuel B. Detwiler, Jr., National Bureau of Standards

Although the need for national standardization in

industry had manifested itself during the last century, such work was not carried on in an organized manner until 1901, when there was established in

Great Britain a national committee to formulate

standards for engineering materials. Other countries were slow to follow this example, so that it was not

until 1916 that a second such committee was organized, in the Netherlands. Then, during the World

War, the necessity for economy in the purchase of

military supplies gave a great impetus to standardization. Other countries adopted the movement, and

later decided to try out its advantages in peace-time

production as well. When its value as a factor in

promoting a country’s economic prosperity was generally realized, national standardization spread rapidly, until to-day the work is under way on six

continents.

Names of standardizing bodies and countries.

National standardizing bodies are now active in 21

countries. The following table lists these organizations in the order of their formation

:

Country Name of standardizing body

Year of organization

Great Britain British Engineering Standards Association (BESA)___ 1901 Netherlands Hoofdcommissie voor de Normalisatie in Nederland (HCNN) 1910 Germany ... . Deutscher Normenausschuss (DNA) 1917 United States of America American Standards Association (ASA) .

1 1918 Switzerland Schweizerische Normalien-Vereinigung (SNV)_ 1918 France Association Francaise de Normalisation (AFNOR) > 1918 Belgium Association Beige de Standardisation (ABS) 1919 Canada . Canadian Engineering Standards Association (CESA)

.

1919 Austria Osterreichischer Normenausschuss fur Industrie und

Gewerbe (ONIG) 1920 Italy Ente Nazionale per l’Unificazione nell’Industria (UNI) 2 1921 Japan.. Japanese Engineering Standards Committee (JESC).. 1921 Hungary

Australia Magyar Ipari Szabvanyosito Bizottsag (MISz)Standards Association of Australia

1921

3 1922 Sweden.. Svenska Industriens Standardiseringskommission

(SIS) 1922 Czechoslovakia... CeskoslovenskS, NormalisaCni SpoleSnost (CSN)._. __ 1922 Norway Norges Industriforbunds Standardiseringskomite (NIS) 1923 Poland... . Polski Komitet Normalizacyjny (PKN) 1924 Finland . .. ... Finlands Standardiseringskommission (SFS)_ 1924 Russia. Standards Committee, Union of Socialist Soviet Republics (OST)-. 1925

I >enmark 1926 Rumania Comisiunea Romana de Normalizare. __ ___ .. 1928

1 Reorganized in 1928. 2 Reorganized in 1930. 3 Reorganized in 1929.

Standardization is also carried on, or has been proposed, in South Africa, New Zealand, India, Dutch

East Indies, China, Peru, and Greece.

Purposes and scope.

- In general, the various national bodies promote

“ standardization within standardization,” functioning in a role of centralization, coordination, and

liaison. They study standardization from a technical and commercial point of view in every domain of

industry, afford an adequate organization and a more

ample development for existing standardizing activities, and establish generally recognized standards of

various kinds. Industry is represented in its relations

at home and abroad. The latest foreign developments

are applied, when helpful, to domestic uses. In short,

the national standardizing bodies further the standardization movement in every practicable way as a means of advancing national economy.

Definitions of terms.

The nomenclature of standardization contains terms

whose definitions are synonymous or overlap in a con- fusing manner. Following the definition used by the

American Standards Association, the term “ industrial

standardization” is here intended to cover: (1)

Standards for nomenclature (definitions of technical

terms, abbreviations, and symbols) ; (2) dimensional

standards; (3) quality specifications for materials and

equipment; (4) uniform test methods; (5) ratings of

machinery and apparatus; (6) safety provisions; (7)

rules for the operation of industrial apparatus and

machinery; and (8) reduction in the number of types,

sizes, and grades of manufactured products. This last item is generally designated “ simplification ” in America, “ typification ” by the Germans, and “ normalisation ” by the French and others. “ Unification ” has been variously used as a more

acceptable substitute for the word “ standardization,”

as a synonym for “ simplification,” and to represent

the unifying process inherent in standardization when

introduced into the industrial process. It has been

said that unification is a result or characteristic of

standardization.

Scientific management, in a broad sense, is founded

upon the standardization of equipment, materials,

method, and product. With these factors as a basis,

scientific management then goes on to emphasize the

human element, to set up standards of accomplishment, which sj^stematize, regularize, and routinize the

work of the operative.

The term “ rationalization ” is being generally used

in Europe to include the subjects of standardization,

simjilification, and scientific management. It is defined as “ the acquisition and employment of every means which will be conducive to the economic advancement of the country, including standardization

of materials and finished products, standard specifications and test methods, improved methods of production and transportation, scientific management,

improved office and accounting practice, etc.” Organization and procedure.

British Engineering Standards Association. —The

plan of organization and procedure adopted by the

British Engineering Standards Association has been

followed, in a general way, in the formation of the

other national bodies. In the British association, ex- ecutive power is vested in a central council representative of all interests concerned with standardization.

Under its authority function industrial sections cover- ing various branches of industry or different classes of

materials. In order to relieve the council of a great
MARCH, 1931 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY 295

amount of detail work, these sections have recently

been decentralized, giving them considerable independence and responsibility.

Upon evidence of satisfactory general interest and

after specific request from outside organizations, an

industrial section may decide to undertake the preparation of a standard, discussing the broad policy and

indicating the lines upon which the work shall proceed. Committees are formed to handle various

technical phases of the work. The actual drafting

of a project is carried on by so-called panels, or

special subcommittees made up from the membership of the technical committees. Completed projects

are submitted first to the technical committee, and

then to the industrial section, for approval.

The most essential factor in the preparation of a standard is cooperation. With this in mind, the per- sonnel of all bodies functioning under the central

council has been carefully chosen with due regard for an equitable representation of producers, consumers,

scientists, and Government establishments. Thus it

is assured that completed standards will be the product of the closest possible agreement between all groups interested therein.

American Standards Association.—The American

Standards Association is composed of 43 member

bodies, including 26 trade associations, 10 technical

societies, and 7 Federal establishments. In addition,

about 300 other organizations interested in standardization are enrolled as sustaining members. A board

of directors, made up of leading industrial executives, is in charge of administrative work. Standards

are approved by a council of representatives of all the

member bodies.

After request by some responsible organization, a standard may be prepared by any one of four general

methods of procedure, namely, the sectional committee method, the existing standards method, the proprietary method, and the general acceptance method.

By the first procedure, a representative sectional committee is formed either by a sponsoring organization

or by the standards council. Standards projects

drafted and agreed upon by the sectional committee

are returned for approval, in one case, to the sponsor

body and then to the standards council, and in the

other case, directly to the council. In considering a

project for approval as an American standard, the

council is concerned not with the technical details

involved therein, but with the procedure followed in

its formulation, the adequacy of the representation on the sectional committee of manufacturers, distributors, consumers, scientists, and other interests, and

the action by which the project has been adopted by

the sectional committee and the sponsor.

Existing standards may be submitted to the sec- tional committee procedure described above, or, upon

assurance that they conform to the association’s re- quirements, may be accepted directly by the standards

council. Proprietary standards, prepared and re- vised entirely by the sponsor body, may undergo like treatment. For simple projects and for cases where sectional

committees are deemed unnecessary, there may be employed the general acceptance method of procedure,

by which a standard is prepared by a represehtative

general conference, supported by written acceptances

from a majority of those concerned, and submitted to the association for approval.

German Standards Committee.—The Deutscher

Normenausschuss (German Standards Committee) is the German counterpart of the American Standards

Association, although it operates on a somewhat different basis, being without fixed rules or procedure,

constitutional limitations or formal by-laws. Administration is handled by an executive committee, while

a large staff, including many engineers, carries on the

business work.

German standards are divided into two classes, “ Dinormen ” and “ Fachnormen.” The “ Dinormen ” include standards covering more than one industry

or the industrial field as a whole. “ Fachnormen ” are standards for subjects within particular branches of

industry.

Functioning under the Deutscher Normenausschuss

are special industry committees representative of ail interests concerned, through which, by means of working subcommittees, standards projects are drafted.

Any necessary coordination of standards properly belonging under more than one industry is done by the

main body. Projects are given wide publicity in the

technical press, and criticism thus evoked is taken

into consideration. Revised drafts are edited, printed

in proof form, and submitted to the executive committee. If approved by this body, they are then published in final form, bearing the symbol, “ DIN,” to indicate acceptance as standards. “ Fachnormen ” bear also the symbol of the special industry concerned.

Other national bodies.—On the whole, the various

national standardizing bodies function very similarly.

Their members are representative of all classes of

organizations interested in industrial standardization,

and, save for a secretary and his business staff, give

their services without remuneration. A central executive board lays down the broad lines upon which

standardization shall proceed, and gives official ap- proval to completed standards. Under this body

operate technical committees covering various

branches of industry, which, through their subcommittees, perform the actual work of preparing standards. Projects go through six general stages before

final promulgation as national standards, as follows

:

(1) Determination to undertake standardization, (2)

preparation of draft proposal, (3) circulation of

proposal for general comment and criticism, (4) submission of revised proposal to executive board for

approval, (5) approval as standard by executive

board, and (6) publication of standard.

To provide a double assurance that standards are the product of a general cooperation and agreement,

various measures are taken by the national standardizing bodies. In Australia and Japan, for instance,

drafts of standards are given a wide circulation in

proof form. In Austria, Czechoslovakia, Denmark,

Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, and

Poland, proposals are published for general comment

and criticism, for suitable lengths of time, in official publications or other technical periodicals. British

standards are submitted to the Dominion standardizing bodies in Australia, Canada, South Africa,

and elsewhere. The American Standards Association has at present no regular procedure by which
296 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY MARCH, 1931

drafts of standards can be published in technical

journals, but many of the organizations, which sponsor

sectional committees functioning under American

Standards Association procedure, themselves take steps

to circulate proposed standards, either through technical magazines, or by means of proof sheets. Czechoslovakian standards undergo a rigorous procedure before their final adoption, to insure their

acceptability to all interested parties. The Standards

Association requests that each member of the technical committee concerned obtain a written acceptance

of a proposal from the organization which he represents. Further, a project must have the unanimous

consent of the members of the executive committee

before promulgation as standard.

The Canadian Engineering Standards Association

has adopted a policy of dealing directly with busi- ness firms or organizations, rather than with sponsor

bodies. This is believed to establish more cordial

and intimate relations with industry, and saves time

in the completion of standards.

The Standards Association of Australia has differ- entiated between simplification and the rest of the

standardization movement, having established a division of simplified practice which functions separately

from the standards division. This division, whose

organization and activities are very similar to those

of the division of simplified practice of the United

States Department of Commerce, strives for the general adoption of types and sizes of industrial products having the greatest commercial demand. Through

the voluntary cooperation of producers, distributors,

and consumers, superfluous types and sizes of such

products are eliminated, effecting substantial savings

to all parties concerned.

In the sense that it is not itself a stand ards-ma king

body, the Association Frangaise de Normalisation

(AFNOR) is not unlike the American Standards Association. The AFNOR centralizes French standardizing activities, makes available to industrial standardization committees—which perform the actual

work of preparing standards—the results of its re- searches, and submits their standards for approval to the so-called Higher Committee on Standardization, a governmental organization which controls French

standardization through general instructions trans- mitted to the AFNOR.

With the object of giving to standardizing activities an adequate organization and a more ample development, the General Fascist Confederation of Italian

Industry recently sponsored the reorganization of the

Italian national standardizing body, under the new name National Association for Industrial Standardization. Having complete control over standardization

in all branches of industry, the new association represents an advantageous transformation and enlargement of the former standardizing committee, which

dealt only with subjects in the field of mechanical

engineering.

The Russian Standards Committee has been given

broad powers in that, besides directing the progress

of standardization work throughout the country, it

is also authorized to supervise general adherence to standardization laws. As a result, all governmental

bureaus of weights and measures, whose principal duty

is to verify the adherence of materials for standard

samples, and the bureau of inspection for metals, coal,

and chemicals have been subordinated to the standards committee.

In certain of the world’s trading centers, more particularly in South Africa, India, the Argentine, Brazil,

Uruguay, and Peru, local committees have been or- ganized by the British Engineering Standards Association to assist British industry which depends

largely on its export trade. Through these committees, consisting of British engineers and traders, some

of the more important British standard specifications,

translated into the appropriate languages, have been

widely disseminated and are at the disposal of foreign

purchasers who may desire to acquaint themselves

with British practice.

Character of work undertaken.

It should be noted that while special interest is shown by the British Engineering Standards Association in quality specifications for materials, and by

the American Standards Association in quality specifications, standard test methods, and safety codes, the

Deutscher Normenausschuss is particularly concerned

with dimensional standardization and simplification..

Although some work is going forward in the Australian and Canadian national bodies in the field of simplification, these organizations follow the British ex- ample in emphasizing specifications for materials.

The Japanese Engineering Standards Committee is. likewise chiefly engaged in such work. On the other

hand, in most of the continental European countries,,

such as Austria, Denmark, Italy, Norway, Poland,

Sweden, and Switzerland, standardizing activities are patterned after those of the Deutscher Normenausschuss, relating largely to dimensional standardization.

In Russia, the work of simplification and dimensional

standardization, while recognized as important, is treated as a preliminary step to the establishment of

quality standards for materials.

Government participation in work.

The Government is more or less concerned with national standardization in every country in which such

work is carried on. National standardization is a

recognized essential to the welfare of an industrial

country, and is therefore considered worthy of official encouragement. Further, the Government, as a con- suming organization, is a potential user of standards

prepared by the national standardizing body, and is consequently interested in their development. This

governmental interest is manifested in many countries

in the shape of substantial sums donated toward the

upkeep of the national standardizing body. Again, in certain countries, the organization and operation of

such bodies are controlled by the Government. In

this last respect, however, it may be said that governmental participation in the work of the national standardizing bodies is generally limited to representation

in their executive councils and various technical

committees.

The Russian Standards Committee operates under

the Council of Labor and Defense, a governmental

organization. Standardization projects are prepared

with the cooperation of various consuming interests. Since nearly all the large manufactories are controlled

by the State, few difficulties are encountered in introducing completed standards into industry. The Gov-
MARCH. 1931 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY 297

ernment has sought to enforce adherence to standards

by providing penalties for infractions thereof.

The Japanese Engineering Standards Committee was established under the superintendence of the Minister of Commerce and Industry, who serves as its president. The committee functions as a governmental organization for preparing specifications for

use primarily by the Government, although steps are taken to obtain the suggestions of technical societies,

trade associations, and manufacturing firms when the

specifications are being prepared.

French standardization is controlled in a general

way by the Higher Committee on Standardization, a governmental body which gives final approval to completed French standards. The work of preparing

such standards, however, is carried on by industrial

standardizing committees, under the supervision and

coordination of the French Standards Association,

which itself is privately operated by French industrialists. Governmental superintendence is confined, in Denmark, to the appointment of the members of the ex- ecutive committee of the national standardizing body,

and in Poland and Sweden, to the appointment of the

chairman of the executive committee. The national

bodies in other countries are managed, generally

speaking, through the initiative of private industry.

The Government has little or no control, acting rather

in an advisory and cooperative capacity.

The amount of financial support accorded by the

Government to the national standardizing bodies

varies considerably in different countries. As mentioned before, Russian standardization is handled by

the State. Most of the income of the Australian,

Finnish, and Swedish standardizing bodies is derived

from governmental sources. The Government meets

about one-half of the expenses in Denmark and the

Netherlands, and one-third of the expenses in Hungary, Norway, and Poland. In Great Britain contributions are arranged on a sliding scale. The

Government makes a basic annual grant of £3,000,

with a bonus of £1 for every £3 subscribed by private

industry in excess of £13,000. The total annual grant,

however, may not exceed £5,000.

In Belgium, France, and Germany, most of the

funds for national standardization are privately

raised, although governmental support may be given

in certain instances. The Austrian, Canadian,

Czechoslovakian, Italian, and American standards

bodies receive very little or no financial aid from the

government.

Many governments are making active use of the

work of tire national standardizing bodies. Included

among the countries in which the national standards

have been or are being introduced into governmental

practice are Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czechoslovakia, France, Great Britain, Japan, Poland.

Rumania, and Russia. In some of these countries,

the use of national standards is mandatory for

governmental departments.

Rumania has created an Office for Rationalization

and Standardization, to promulgate specifications for

materials consumed by the Government. This office maintains the closest cooperation with the Rumanian

Committee for Standardization, and will make use

of standards prepared by that body.

Activity.

Some idea of the amount of work being carried on by the national standardizing bodies may be obtained from the following table, in which are listed,

for different countries, the numbers of standards

completed and standardization projects under way.

From some of the countries late progress reports have

not been made available, and the figures given in these

instances represent only approximations.

Country

Standar

proj

Complete

dization

ects

Incomplete

Australia. 135 30

434 309

47 17 32 25 Czechoslovakia. . .. .. . 57 o

Denmark 66 91

217 500 France . . ... .. ._ 190 155

4, 412 l, no

395 (1) 14 78

Italy 132 116

109 45 Netherlands ._. . 300 150 Norway, . . .. .. 227 79 272 496

(>) 0)

1,446 (‘) Sweden _ . ... 288 184 300 50 United States of America 168 173

1 No report. Most of these standards relate to mechanical and

electrical engineering. However, work has also been

carried on in such fields as agriculture, automotive

practice, chemistry, civil engineering, ferrous and nonferrous metallurgy, fibrous materials, fire protection,

hospital practice, mining, naval construction, and

transportation.

The number of standards produced is not always

a true indication of the relative activity of a national

standardizing body. In Germany, for example, where

interest centers largely in dimensional standardization, standards are generally published in single sheets,

each sheet covering certain definite dimensions of a single device or commodity. Russian standards like- wise relate to details of a particular subject. On the

other hand, in such countries as Great Britain and the

Dominions, Czechoslovakia, and the United States, a single standard may cover all of the various phases

of a given subject.

The use of official labels or symbols to be emploj^ed

by manufacturers as a guarantee that their products

comply with the requirements of nationally recognized

standards, is being encouraged by the national standardizing bodies in several countries, among them Canada, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Germany, and Great

Britain. Such symbols are legally protected, and

penalties are attached to their misuse.

The Standards Association of Australia has adopted

the certification plan as originally developed at the

National Bureau of Standards of the United States

Department of Commerce. Under this plan, there

are compiled lists of manufacturers who have exliressed their desire to certify to the purchaser, upon

request, that material supplied by them on contracts
298 COMMERCIAL STANDARDS MONTHLY MARCH, 1931

based on certain nationally recognized standards and

specifications actually does comply with the requirements and tests thereof and is so guaranteed by them.

In Australia these lists of “ willing-to-certify ” manufacturers are being prepared in conjunction with cor- responding lists of purchasing authorities who have

agreed to adopt Australian standard specifications as the basis of their purchasing.

International cooperation.

International cooperation between a majority of the

national standardizing bodies is now effected through

the International Standards Association (ISA), which was established in Zurich, Switzerland, in the spring

of 1929. In its membership 18 countries are represented, among them the United States. The International Standards Association provides

for the regular interchange between the national

standardizing bodies of progress reports, standardization proposals, completed standards, and other in- formation. Technical committees have been proposed,

or have already been organized, for the promotion of

international agreement between national standards

for similar subjects, such as paper sizes, technical

drawings, small tools, acceptance test pressures for

steam boilers, rivets, classification of coals, sieves, traffic signals, petroleum products, and fluid meters. Great Britain, Australia, and Canada have up to the

present not found it expedient to join the International Standards Association, although energetic measures are taken to insure cooperation between their

own standards associations. Drafts of British standards are sent to the Dominions for comment and criti- cism. In the preparation of Australian and Canadian

standards, every effort is made for their conformance,

wherever feasible, to existing British standards.

NEW SWEDISH STANDARDS ESTABLISHED

The Swedish Industrial Standardization Committee on November 6, 1930, established as Swedish standards the following revisions developed by the Swedish

Industrial Association’s Committee on Standards

:

Lifting-hooks with pin, BSW, SMS-12A.

Lifting-hooks with hole, BSW, SMS-13A. Lifting-hooks with pin, SI, SMS-14A.

Lifting-hooks with hole, SI, SMS-15A.

These new editions are printed on standard paper

form A4, and include, beside the old tables of dimensions, rules for the tapped holes for lifting-hooks,

regulations concerning materials and manufacture,

and loads permitted under different loading conditions. The Royal Social Administration prescribes

the use of these standardized lifting-hooks for reasons

of safety.

The following were also adopted

Length of screw-threads of malleable iron pipes with cylindri- cal thread (BSP). SMS-37A. Replaces SMS-37.

Round-headed rivets for structural iron work, SMS-39A.

This edition replaces SMS-39, which was provided for use in steam-boiler construction as well as for structural iron work.

Wheels for shaping and grinding tools, SMS-280-285.

Axial ball bearings, SMS-287-293. In these tables reference

is made to a table of tolerances, SMS-294, which is not

ready, although a number is reserved for it. Theoretical shape of cogs for cylindrical and conical cog- wheels, SMS-296.

Threaded pipes, SMS-323.

Pipes and pipe flanges, in detail, SMS-324.

Pipes and pipe flanges, summary, SMS-325.

Steam-pipes, SMS-327.

Pipe sleeves, SMS-328.

High-pressure pipes, SMS-329.

Tubes, SMS-330.

Heat-conducting tubes, SMS-331.

Autogenously welded tubes, SMS-332.

Pressure limits, SMS-333.

Flange designs, SMS-334.

Location and number of bolt holes, SMS-335.

End joints, SMS-336.

Flanges with groove and tongue, SMS-337.

Flanges with projection and boring, SMS-338 and 339. Flanges of cast-iron pipes, SMS-340-342.

Flanges of steel pipes, SMS-343-345.

Flanges with oval threads, SMS-346.

Flanges with round threads, SMS-347-348.

Cylinder ends, SMS-349.

Flanges for rolled tubes, SMS-350-355.

Welded flanges, SMS-356-357.

Loose flanges for collar pipes, SMS-358.

Flange packing, SMS-359-362.

FOREIGN CONSTRUCTION DIVISION CREATED

Organization of a foreign construction division,

effective February 1, 1931, within the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, Department of Commerce, has been announced. M. H. Bletz, of Philadelphia, Pa., will be in charge. The new division,

with duties technical, informational, and promotional

in character, will work in conjunction with the for- eign field staff and the various commodity divisions,

and coordinate in one office the present foreign construction activities of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce. It will collect, review, investigate,

and disseminate information regarding foreign construction, potential usage and outlet for American machinery, equipment and supplies, facilities for testing

and inspection, domestic and foreign standard specifications, codes and practices in use, etc. Mr. Bletz, the chief of the division, has been asso- ciated with the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce for six years, and has directed activities in con- nection wuth foreign standards, international confer- ences as well as international fairs and expositions.

PREPARING ZONING ORDINANCES

The rapidly increasing nation-wide interest in zon- ing has prompted the Advisory Committee on City

Planning and Zoning of the Department of Commerce to issue a short treatise on “ The Preparation of

Zoning Ordinances.”

The purpose of this pamphlet is to present a guide

for the use of those who draft zoning ordinances. It

is in no sense a model ordinance, although for a few

sections, such as the title, preamble, and the section on nonconforming uses, specific wording is suggested.

It is designed to aid in the arrangement of simple,

logical, practical, and legally satisfactory provisions;

to encourage standardization in form; and to point

the way to economy of time in the drafting and use

of such ordinances. It is not intended as a substitute

for a zoning consultant. Local needs are so different

and pitfalls are so numerous that a specialist may well

be employed when specific problems arise. A limited number of mimeographed copies of this

publication are available from the division of building

and housing of the National Bureau of Standards to those interested.

o
SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL, AND COMMERCIAL

PERIODICAL PUBLICATIONS ISSUED BY THE

national BUREAU of standards

BUREAU OF STANDARDS

JOURNAL OF RESEARCH

The new Journal describes the bureau’s re- search results in science and technology. The

union of science and its applications in one

journal shortens the lag between discovery

and application.

All engaged in industry and commerce should

have available for current use and permanent

reference, the Bureau of Standards Journal of

Research.

Early in its firSt year the Journal developed a

liSl of paid subscribers double the anticipated

maximum.

This Journal is full of interest to executives

and technicians controlling industries and

commercial enterprises. It enables them bet- ter to promote efficiency by determining the

scientific measured controls ofprocess through

experimental and theoretical research.

Issued monthly

Subscription price, $2.75 per year

TECHNICAL NEWS BULLETIN

The Bureau of Standards periodical with a WAR RECORD! Started during the dark

days of 1917 to keep the Army and Navy and

other branches of the Government informed

of progress in scientific war research at the

bureau. Upon urgent request this publication was continued and expanded to serve the

Government, science, and industry.

The TECHNICAL NEWS BULLETIN will

keep you informed of current progress in the

scientific and technical work of the bureau’s

laboratories, and gives each month a liSt of

the publications of the bureau. A complete

cross index is published with the December

issue.

You can not afford to be without the TECHNICAL NEWS BULLETIN. Every article is short and to the point. The busiest executive can afford the time to read it.

COMMERCIAL STANDARDS

MONTHLY

MR.

Issued monthly

Subscription price, 25 cents per year

STANDARDS YEARBOOK

FOR 1931

This new governmental periodical is a review

of progress in commercial simplification and

Standardization. It is the only journal of its kind. It covers the national movement initiated by President Hoover for the reduction

of needless siz.es and varieties of products and

the promotion of voluntary commercial

standardization by industry.

The Secretary of Commerce in the firSt issue

of this new journal said: “Certain Standards,

such as those used for weights and measures,

* * * have been fixed by legislative enactment. Mandatory Standards of this character, however, are few in number when compared with the large and steadily growing

volume of Standards developed by industry

and commerce and voluntarily maintained.

* * * The activities of the Commercial

Standardization Group of the Bureau of

Standards are concerned with Standards

adopted by voluntary agreement.”

Subscription price, $1 per year

The new Standards Yearbook for 1931 is the

fifth annual issue of a publication devoted

to the great and growing field of Standardization in its broad aspeCts. It gives a summary

of progress.

Standardization is a world-wide movement.

It covers all industries. It is part of the application of scientific methods to induffry. Its achievements are of interest and concern to business men and manufacturers as well as to

engineers. To the technician it is full of

example of methods and results of suggeStive

and Stimulating value. To business men it discloses trends which deeply concern their

interest.

NOW READY Price, $1 ORDER AT ONCE

“Standardization is becoming an aspect of all well- ordered activity rather than an incidental

activity supplemental to others.”

To obtain regularly the above-described monthly Periodicals send your order, with remittance, addressed: Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C. Foreign prices (countries other

than the United States and its possessions, Caiiada, Mexico, Newfoundland, Cuba, and Republic of Panama) are: Journal, $3.50; Bulletin, $0.40; Monthly, $1.25; Yearbook, $0.90
“* * * this department * * * is devoted solely to aiding and fostering the development of higher standards of living and comfort of our people * * * its ideals are clear: That by cooperation and not by compulsion it should seek to assist in maintaining and giving the impulse of progress to commerce and industry in a nation whose successful economic life underlies advancement in every other field."' —President Hoover, at the laying of the corner stone of the new building

of the U. S. Department of Commerce, June 10, 1929.

THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

R. P. LAMONT, Secretary of Commerce

AERONAUTICS BRANCH, Clarence M. Young, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Aeronautics. Establishment of civil airways and maintenance of aids to air navigation; inspection and registration of aircraft and licensing

of pilots; enforcement of air traffic rules; investigation of acci- dents; encouragement of municipal air ports; fostering of air commerce; scientific research in aeronautics; and dissemination of information relating to commercial aeronautics. (Some

of these functions are performed by special divisions of the Lighthouse Service, the Bureau of Standards, and the Coast and Geodetic Survey.)

BUREAU OF THE CENSUS, William M. Steuart, Director. Taking censuses of population, mines, and quarries, water

transportation, and religious bodies every 10 years; censuses of agriculture and electrical public utilities every 5 years; and a

census of manufactures every 2 years. Compilation of statistics of wealth, public debt and taxation, including financial statistics of local governments, every 10 years; annual compilation of financial statistics of State and municipal governments.

Compilation of statistics of marriage, divorce, births, deaths,

and penal and other institutions annually, and of death rates in

cities and automobile accidents weekly.

Compilation quarterly or monthly of statistics on cotton, wool, leather, and other industries; annually of forest products;

and publication monthly of Survey of Current Business. BUREAU OF FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC COMMERCE,

William L. Cooper, Director. The collection of timely information concerning world market

conditions and openings for American products in foreign countries, through commercial attaches, trade commissioners, and

consular officers, and its distribution through weekly Commerce

Reports, bulletins, confidential circulars, the news and trade

press, and district and cooperative offices in 65 cities. The

maintenance of commodity, technical, and regional divisions to afford special service to American exporters and manufacturers. The compilation and distribution of lists of possible buyers

and agents for American products in all parts of the world and

publication of weekly lists of specific sales opportunities abroad. The publicity of statistics on imports and exports. The study of the processes of domestic trade and commerce BUREAU OF STANDARDS, George K. Burgess, Director. Custody, development, and construction of standards of measurement, quality, performance, or practice; comparison of standards used by scientific or other institutions; determination

of physical constants and properties of materials; researches and tests on materials and processes; and publication of scientific and technical bulletins reporting results of researches and

fundamental technical data. Collection and dissemination of information concerning

building codes and the planning and construction of houses. Establishment of simplified commercial practices through

cooperation with business organizations in order to reduce the wastes resulting from excessive variety in commodities

BUREAU OF MINES, Scott Turner, Director. Technical investigations in the mining, preparation, and

utilization of minerals, including the study of mine hazards, and

safety methods and of improved methods in the production

and use of minerals. Testing of Government fuels and management of the Govern- ment Fuel Yard at Washington.

Research on helium and operation of plants producing it.

BUREAU OF MINES—Continued.

Studies in the economics and marketing of minerals and col- lection of statistics on mineral resources and mine accidents. The dissemination of results of technical and economic

researches in bulletins, technical papers, mineral resources series, miners’ circulars, and miscellaneous publications.

BUREAU OF FISHERIES, Henry O’Malley, Commissioner.

The propagation and distribution of food fish and shellfish, in order to prevent the depletion of the fisheries; investigations

to promote conservation of fishery resources; the development

of commercial fisheries and agriculture; study of fishery methods,

improvements in merchandising, and collection of fishery statistics; administration of Alaska fisheries and fur seals; and the

protection of sponges off the coast of Florida. BUREAU OF LIGHTHOUSES, George R. Putnam, Commissioner. Maintenance of lighthouses and other aids to water navigation. Establishment and maintenance of aids to navigation

along civil airways. Publication of Light Lists, Buoy Lists, and

Notices to Mariners. COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY, R. S. Patton, Director. Survey of the coasts of the United States and publication of charts for the navigation of the adjacent waters, including

Alaska, the Philippine Islands, Hawaii, Porto Rico, the Virgin

Islands, and the Canal Zone; interior control surveys; magnetic

surveys; tide and current observations; and seismological investigations. Publication of results through charts, coast pilots, tide tables, current tables, and special publications.

BUREAU OF NAVIGATION, Arthur J. Tyrer, Commissioner.

Superintendence of commercial marine and merchant seamen.

Supervision of registering, enrolling, licensing, numbering,

etc., of vessels under the United States flag, and the annual

publication of a list of such vessels. Enforcement of the navigation and steamboat inspection laws,

including imposition of fees, fines, tonnage taxes, etc. STEAMBOAT INSPECTION SERVICE, Dickerson N. Hoover, Supervising Inspector General. The inspection of merchant vessels, including boilers, hulls, and life-saving equipment, licensing of officers of vessels, certifi- cation of able seamen and lifeboat men, and the investigation of violations of steamboat inspection laws. UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE, Thomas E. Robertson,

Commissioner.

The granting of patents and the registration of trade-marks»

prints, and labels after technical examination and judicial

proceedings.

Maintenance of library with public search room, containing

copies of foreign and United States patents, and trade-marks. Recording bills of sale, assignments, etc., relating to patents

and trade-marks. Furnishing copies of records pertaining to patents. Publication of the weekly Official Gazette, showing the patents and trade-marks issued. RADIO DIVISION, W. D. Terrell, Chief. Inspection of radio stations on ships; inspection of radio

stations on shore, including broadcasting stations; licensing radio operators; assigning station call letters; enforcing the terms of the International Radiotelegraphic Convention; and

examining and settling international radio accounts.

U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1931